Out of the Blue
by Drop of Silence
Summary: “I chose you,” said Gaara. Three words that welcomed her to a living nightmare, that was more than enough to leave her in a beautiful pandemonium, and yet, he just had to add oil to the flame. “I’m the father of your child” GaaSaku pairing. COMPLETE
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: Not earning from this, don't own Naruto... Blah blah blah, and all that jazz

**Summary:** "I chose you," said Gaara. Three words that welcomed her to a living nightmare, that was more than enough to leave her in a beautiful pandemonium, and yet, he just had to add oil to the flame. "I'm the father of your child" GaaSaku pairing.

**Prologue**

"You're pregnant,"

Two words that left Sakura... speechless.

The kunoichi sat dumb-founded in her seat, not moving once. She stared blankly out of the window, her mind racing out of the countless things that could have missed this vital information.

It was a sunny morning in Sunagakure... and if it were not for the cool air conditioning of the hospital, she could have fainted.

She found it ridiculous. She found her situation ridiculous.

This was just the third day of her one month visit in Suna to train the local medic-nins the advanced medical technology Konoha had been updated with... and now here she was, in a clinic only to be told that... she's... pregnant.

"Haruno-san?" began the medic, who stoically sat behind her desk with intertwined fingers, "are you alright?"

"I'm fine," responded the kunoichi, slightly relieved that her voice didn't give away her any sign of her inner turmoil. Masking her facade with practiced calmness, she asked, "for how long?"

A question that might lead to a favourable answer of ridding the foetus germinating inside her with ease, with the help of her experience in the medical field, she already encountered a situation that required aborting life that could hinder the job of a ninja.

She paused.

She sounded cold-hearted, and she was disturbed by it.

"Haruno-san?" the medic nin started yet again.

Sakura snapped her head back up to the brunette, watching the medic readjust her glasses against the bridge of her nose with a finger

"I said, you're good for three days,"

Sakura blinked away. There was still a chance of ridding the foetus... but did she really want to go through it?

Taking in a shaky breath, she framed a small smile, whispering her thanks before calmly stepping out of the small room. With a clipboard in hand and a pen tucked in her white coat, she knew that her break won't be on for another two hours.

She still had paperwork to do, and train another batch of medic nins in the hospital... she still had a task to do, and she wondered if she can make it through the day with another issue claiming her full attention.

This was her _body_, something that she was responsible for, and that called her attention. Stated by the results that she has been pregnant for three days, which would only mean that she got pregnant the moment her mission began.

Her brows furrowed as she took a turn for the examination room down the hall. She sighed, slightly dropping the matter. She began flipping through the pages in her clipboard as she drew closer to the room to recall the need for her presence.

Scanning her schedule, she noticed a small sticky note, messily stuck on her page. She glanced it through and knew she had been in the right place. She stepped into the room, while still scanning her schedule in advance.

Unlike the other examination room, the room seemed more superior to the others. It had a long table in the middle of the carpeted room, and wide windows lining the wall in front of Sakura. There was a whiteboard on the left wall of the room, with scribbles from the previous meeting regarding an unknown poison, which Sakura took note of.

Nonetheless, she was greeted by a handful of significant chakra signatures that rose from their seats upon her arrival.

"Good morning, Haruno-san"

Sakura smiled, "Temari, how are you doing?"

"Fine thank you," replied the blonde

The pinkette glanced over the room and greeted Kankuro with higher respect to the Sunakage.

"Kazekage-sama," muttered Sakura as she bowed to a ninety degree.

The redhead eyed her with an illegible demeanour; he sat with an air of authority that tamed everyone in the room. His sand neatly tucked away in the gourd that rested by the left of his armchair.

"Please," spoke Kankuro, gesturing an empty seat on Gaara's left.

Immediately, the kunoichi strode away from the threshold, shutting the door as she went. The moment she sat, an eerie air settled in the room.

"So," began Sakura, slightly nervous for breaking the silence, "how can I be of help?"

All eyes hardened on Sakura, suffocating her from words. She blinked, taken aback. It has been three days, and she still can't seem to adjust to Suna's lack of conversational comfort.

"Sakura," began Temari in a much softer voice

"Yes?" blinked the kunoichi, slightly getting tense from the dramatic pauses that keeps on intruding in the room every now and then

"It's about your pregnancy," said the blonde

Sakura's brows furrowed as she felt the heated tingle dashing across her face. She fisted the hem of her coat along with her clipboard, slightly clueless as how to react. That was a confidential matter that she was going to deal with during her break time.

Why where they having a conference regarding her pregnancy? She wasn't even ready about the idea, yet. She didn't even know what to do. She can't even imagine herself being pregnant in the first place.

"What..." breathed Sakura, words clogging in her throat, "how...?"

"You're here because of that," continued Temari

Sakura's face contorted in a strange mix of confusion, rage and embarrassment. She didn't understand, she clearly knew that her mission was to train the medics in Suna, and share the knowledge they stacked up in Konoha.

"What do you mean?" hissed Sakura, she did not come here to have her reputation destroyed, "how did you know about this?"

"Don't you even remember the night you came here?" asked a flabbergasted Kankuro, his face clear from any malicious intent.

Sakura raised a brow quite harshly that it formed wrinkles on her forehead, delivering another wordless demand of explanation. Because by then, she clearly remembered she was resting on the night of her arrival.

"Kankuro, please" sighed Temari, turning to Sakura, she began, "Sakura, please listen and try to understand. Gaara has been called upon the Elders to bring forth his heir to be trained..."

"So...?"

"Unless the Kazekage managed to choose a female of his choice, the council will choose for him,"

Both brows furrowed deeply, quickly showing Sakura's exasperation

"The Council chose me?" came the feeble question

Temari turned to Gaara, finally at lost for words.

Meeting the intense gaze of the Kazekage was the last thing Sakura wished she did, for she felt like melting on her seat. The magnitude of his piercing green eyes palmed her wall of pride out of the way, stripping her of anything she held dear in her code of honor.

"I chose you," said Gaara. Three words that welcomed her to a living nightmare, that was more than enough to leave her in a beautiful pandemonium, and yet, he just had to add oil to the flame.

"I'm the father of your child"

**A/N: **So whaddaya think?! Well, depending on the reviews, remarks and encouragement, I'll see if I'll continue working on this... I just can't seem to get out of my writer's block... oh yeah~ I'm back~~~!! ^^

**BY THE WAY: Hold your horses, before you judge and turn away, wait til _CHAPTER THREE_ to explain this _three-days-I'm-pregnant thing_, hopefully you'll understand how in the world this can happen through deviating medical reasoning... we're in Naruworld, can't we deviate from reality once in a while? That's why it's called a _fic_, soften up and try to enjoy~**

**^^*updated March 26, 2009***


	2. Realization of Responsibility

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto, a statement that I will push through 'til the thing's finished...

**Chapter One**

The wind hummed against the thick paned glass windows of his office. Unfathomable green eyes settled into thin air as he rested his chin on intertwined fingers. Thoughts... no, memories from that night still run vividly through his senses. And because of that, the recent encounter with the Konoha kunoichi drew a strange sense of awkwardness from the core of his being.

It... felt... strange...

Gaara blinked, sighed and readjusted himself against his seat; rubbing his temples to calm himself down... hopefully averting his thoughts elsewhere. Eyes immediately focused on a towering stack on the corner of his desk:

Paperwork.

That was an excellent source of distraction.

Lazily reaching out for the first folder, he flipped through the pages and began the tedious process of assigning missions, reading reports and whatnots. Because the task was so robotic, time flew by listlessly in such a calming manner. The sound of paper rustling and its edges tapping against his wooden desk before moving on the next, slowly began a steady rhythm that hypnotized him.

Scanning words, processing choices, ink gliding onto empty parchment... as he gradually succumbed into his task; his senses unconsciously began to heighten. The way the paper felt as his felt-tipped pen glided across the surface so smoothly slowly became so addicting that he had the urge to run a finger across the paper to test its silky texture.

His loins burned.

The feeling was so familiar... so tempting... and yet, sliding his finger against the paper over and over didn't seem to satiate for whatever he slowly began craving for. Though the texture was smooth, he seemed to be searching for a certain silkier texture. Aggravated, he set the paper down and began calming himself down by resuming to his former position:

Chin on intertwined fingers.

Just before his mind flew elsewhere, a sharp knock on the door called for his attention.

"Come in," he muttered under his breath, not that he could be heard or anything. However, the words just rolled off his mouth in a way to mask his relieved sigh for the presence of another person.

Though he kept a cool facade, he was inwardly thankful for the visitor for keeping his sanity in check—

Pink hair... emerged from the door, followed by a radiant face that gripped his airways and burned his innards, making a beeline below his belt. He literally stiffened everywhere, had it not been for his robes, his dignity would have been on a hot seat.

Green eyes met his... intensifying the tension that grew at a steady pace within him. The air grew noticeable humid and uncomfortable. Her skin radiated a certain glow that fluorescent lights complimented as she stepped into the room. Gaara unconsciously, yet unnoticeably swallowed.

With the white medic coat draped over her figure, it seemed to tempt him to ogle at her firm, shapely legs adorned with skin that promised the softest of all textures his hands can settle on—

"Kazekage-sama," muttered Sakura with practiced ease as she bowed before him. The slight opening made by the v-line of her red shirt granted the kazekage a teasing glimpse of her cleavage's shadow.

Gaara folded his arms across his chest in a form of a defence mechanism in response to that promising view.

He readjust his focus as she began her daily report, a procedure devised by both kages from Konoha and Suna when it came to the annual mission of knowledge contribution as a form of strengthening the bonds of alliances between the hidden villages.

He just needed to endure fifteen minutes of severe awkwardness before granting this kunoichi her privileged afternoon break.

However, as she began her report, all words that flowed from her mouth were slowly dulled as he found an interest on her rosy lips. They just seemed so... pink. Had he any brows, they would have raised whenever her lips formed an 'O'. It just seemed like a full display of how plump her lips could be.

They seemed so soft.

And he grew curious as to how they could actually feel—

"Kazekage-sama?" asked Sakura

One blink and his mind turned into a full one-eighty degree turn for his respect towards her.

"Yes?"

"May I take my break now?" she asked, her voice growing softer than the norm

He sensed this, before staring at her. He studied her as he began his mental analysis. Prior to the recent meeting, she was the proud kunoichi who held an air of status and respect. She was strong and capable in many ways and exceeded in the medical field and monstrous strength.

Yet here she was before him as timid as a mouse... and as vulnerable as a prey to a predator.

Was she that affected by the very fact that she now carries his... _child_?

His eyes fell to her abdomen and settled there before it struck him, this time with greater impact. She was carrying his child.

He blinked.

She's the mother of _his_ _child_.

His eyes slightly widened before silently dismissing her. He breathlessly watched her leave his office; high-heeled sandals tapping his wooden floor before the door shut behind her.

Her presence began haunting him.

He could still hear her walk down the hall, her footfalls gradually echoing to nothingness. The moment silence resumed to its rightful place, he released his grip on his armchair, let out a breath he seemed to have held for a long time before the pads of his fingers began massaging his scalp with elbows on his desk.

What was happening to him?

He blinked... before widening his eyes at the realization that dreadfully dawned on him...

...

He was going to be a father.

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"Green Tea or water?"

Sakura looked up from the menu and let out a cordial smile, "I'll just have miso soup"

The waitress smiled back before scribbling on her notepad, then asked, "anything else?"

Sakura paused thoughtfully with a finger to her chin. She hummed as she scanned through the menu, flipping it back and forth with one hand. "And dango... no, mochi... and sushi... perhaps, I'll just have the miso soup, and tempura, and chicken teriyaki—no pork curry sounds good and perhaps... no, that's it"

The waitress blinked and held her pen stiffly as she eyed Sakura, "I'll repeat your order, so you'll have miso soup and... pork curry...?"

Sakura's face scrunched, choices gradually becoming fickle, "maybe I'll go for sashimi instead and tamago--with curry sauce!" she looked up at the waitress, "can you do that?"

The waitress blinked before slowly responding with a nervous smile, "I think we can do something about that"

Sakura beamed eagerly as the waitress turned on her heels. She sighed and reached out for the menu yet again, having second choices about her order. She began craving for something very tasty with an edge just to satisfy her appetite. After all it was going to be a long day.

Eyes widened as she scanned the menu, ideas forming in her head as she thought of new ways to combine sauces and pork... then she set it down with a sigh.

She was craving.

She pouted, why not? She _was_ pregnant, after all.

A hand gingerly palmed her abdomen; she immediately felt the second chakra signature. A troubled smile crept to her face. She was amused... yet the idea still scared her.

She didn't think about the idea of being a mother...

She pondered on the idea of being _pregnant_...

At seventeen.

She sighed, she didn't want to stay out of work because she was carrying a child. She liked working... she liked being kept on her toes--and the idea of _not_ training. Oh the dreadful thought!

But still... did she... _want_ her situation? No, not really. She didn't want the child... but she can't abort it. She pouted, well at least she didn't have to go through an abortion that may pose as a traumatic experience for her as of now.

And then, she thought about delivering the baby.

She heard it was painful... well, she delivered babies in the wards of the hospital, so she was quite familiar with how it goes. She grimaced at the idea. She knew she was going to be in pain. A lot of pain.

That sounds scary. Or maybe frightening. No. Those words where still an understatement. Giving birth was _daunting_. It's a painful procedure that can harm her—

"Here you go," sang the waitress as she placed the unique dishes before Sakura

Immediately distracted from all thoughts by her excitement, Sakura hastily broke her wooden chopsticks and began devouring her choice of meal. The first bite of _Tamago Curry_ left her humming in satisfaction. And sloshing the sashimi against the curry sauce before it went straight to her mouth nearly drove her into bliss.

However, she now craved for dango... and mochi. It wasn't long before she ordered a new set of dishes. It wasn't long before she finished her meal with a guilty feeling for ruining her diet.

She sighed.

Oh well, she wouldn't need to diet now that she was pregnant.

As she began drinking down her miso soup, she just couldn't help but wonder how she managed to get pregnant without remembering the process of getting to where she was now.

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Clear nail polished fingers drummed rhythmically against a wooden desk. A free hand to her chin, and hazel eyes fixated on the mission report exposed on her desk. How could she miss such a small detail?

Sending Sakura off to this mission seemed rightfully so, but the one liner hidden beneath layers and layers of other sentences finally took its toll on her. Tsunade finally learned her lesson the hard way. Paperwork wasn't all about signing things for garbage; they were valuable documents that are needed to be thoroughly perused and be taken seriously.

"What—"

"_Don't_," growled Tsunade, interrupting a nervous Shizune before her desk, "say a word"

Hands that rested on her chin moved to palm her whole face with fingers massaging her temples.

She needed to punch something. Real bad.

She was at loss. Her student, her valuable, treasured student. She sent Sakura off to a mission to give birth to the Kazekage's son. That just seemed so... _wrong_. But it was all too late now, seeing to it that she had re-read her mission file three days after she sent her off.

"Shizune,"

The young girl turned rigid

"Tell me," sighed the Hokage, "why did you give this to me just now?"

Shizune blinked, "I... I..." eyes cast down on the floor, "because I read it by accident by just ten minutes ago...?"

The blonde let out a loud shaky breath, fingers raking up her scalp, eyes burning a hole though the paper. "Cancel the mission," she said

"But it's... too late, Hokage-sama..." began Shizune, "it has probably been three days by now for all we know"

Tsunade let out a cynical smirk, "you really think Sakura's _that_ submissive?"

Shizune shook her head before turning a page on the report. Her dainty fingers pointed accurately in the midst of more nauseating words. "Apparently, they've got their ways..."

The blonde's eyes narrowed 'til they shut, she began hissing incoherent words through gritted teeth as she pounded the desk with controlled anger—if possible. The whole room reverberated against her strength, nearly tossing Shizune out of balance from where she stood.

"It's just a mission," assured Shizune

Another heavy sigh, Tsunade repeated to herself, "It's just a mission..."

After that heavy turmoil, she dismissed the young brunette, leaving her alone to herself to think more clearly. Ever since she was under her tutelage their bonding grew stronger like mother and child. And because of that, she avoided letting her go to missions until she knew she was ready enough for such dangerous levels.

She thought this mission was to help modernize Suna's medical knowledge, she knew Sakura was right for the job... but what she didn't know was that, in the next page was an added note that it would be the season where the Sunakage is free to choose any female to mother his child.

On a less paranoid point of view, she could always think, _what are the choices of Sakura being chosen?_ Then if that were the case, she can turn on a logical point of view that will oppose such a care-free thought of _though Suna's women may be drop dead gorgeous, Sakura's beauty is exotically rare_.

She sighed. There hadn't been any real proof that Sakura _is_ pregnant...

... Right?

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"You are all dismissed," Sakura smiled at all medic-nins before they left the examination room. She stayed on topic and finished earlier than planned. This batch seemed to be a quick study or just nodded their way throughout the lecture.

As Sakura piled all her papers, she began wondering if she should throw in a pop quiz tomorrow... or according to her schedule, the next time she'll be handling them. She glanced over her watch and noted that it was a quarter to nine.

A brow quirked, she'll be out of the hospital earlier than the norm.

With a sigh, she cradled all her papers and began leaving the room; shutting the lights as she went. Because of her status, she knew she needed all the rest she could get. The foetus must be well taken care of, and right now, it was her main priority—

Nearly stopping in her tracks, it suddenly struck her.

It takes a foetus six full months of development before delivery... then, how long did she have to stay here? How long was her mission supposed to be?

Her brows furrowed, then shook her head. Her mission was valid for two weeks...

Darn it. Her mission was valid for two weeks _only_.

What? How...?!

Was she supposed to return to Konoha with life growing inside of her? How can she explain herself to Tsunade? Will she drop the baby? But then, if she did... what about Gaara and _his duty_ to this village?

....

If she returned to Konoha, she can cleverly hide the second chakra signature growing within her... she knew there was a technique, probably Suna's library has something about it... if not, she can sneak into Konoha's library and research before exposing herself to anyone she knew in her village.

Oh dear Kami... what did she get herself into...?

Shaking all thoughts in her head, she needed to calm herself. She can't... really harm the foetus just because of her stress. Stress can affect the foetus' health. Hmmm... baby. She should refer it to baby... after all, it was _her _baby.

....?

"I need a break," grumbled Sakura, "... or I can ask" thought the kunoichi, glancing at the majestic Kage tower on her way out of the hospital.

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Being Kazekage would have to come first.

Being Kazekage would have to mean serving the village first.

Being Kazekage would mean having to choose the best female to sire a healthy heir.

He wanted to become Kazekage... and he knew his responsibility and the consequences. He set his priorities right. But did he reason well?

Why did he prefer Sakura over the well handpicked females of Suna?

That he couldn't answer. And whenever he tried to ask himself, vivid memories would flood his mind to that night...

Her charming eloquence, her striking presence, her stunning appearance, her exotic accent...

She had every tool she needed to get his attention in that drab hospital. To see prominent pink and red strutting down the simple hall, she easily stole glances off everyone with a touch of awe. She was still naive and her innocence magnanimously radiated off her. Her outlook took a full one-eighty degree turn from Suna's slightly conservative choice of clothing.

Skin. Flawlessly, honey-tanned skin invited any touch. And it was all too tempting. Just as the Kazekage averted his eyes and decided to leave the information desk, Sakura called out to him, approached him and accompanied him.

It was rather awkward really, for Gaara, that is.

Though he was still treated like a Kage, her cordial smile said otherwise, as if he were a long lost friend she missed.

It was also rather awkward to give her a one on one detailed information of what he expected her to do... but then again, he was the Kazekage, it was technically his hospital since it was in his village.

Finally, he led her to an examination room, with shelves against walls with unused instruments and corked vials that can all be of use. For such an ineloquent person, Gaara managed to give her that tour and explain it all to her.

Silence befell on them that night.

Gaara felt the awkwardness rise all the more. The realization of them being the only two in the examination room--found at the end of the hall left them virtually isolated from everyone else—didn't calm his nerves. Yet, he kept his cool composure by the door with crossed arms and a steady gaze on the kunoichi who began scrutinizing the shelves with careful steps.

"So, you being Kazekage, huh?" began the kunoichi in a friendly tone

Silence marked his answer, why was she striking a conversation with him? She was on a mission for kami's sake.

The kunoichi nodded her head quite softly, as she turned on her heels. Gaara trained his eyes to fix on hers and nothing else that concerned her body. Her hand rested on the cold metal table next to the gurney and gingerly examined the loaded tiny syringes lined against the edge.

"How are you?" she asked, setting the syringe down

And Gaara could remember every split second that happened right after that tiny mistake of setting the syringe down.

Had it not been Sakura's focus to rekindle the bonds of friendship, she would have been more careful. She would have set the syringe far away from the edge instead of realigning it with the others. Had she done that, the syringe wouldn't have fallen and called for her reflexes to the save it.

Had it not been for her clumsy impulse, she wouldn't have swooped down to catch the falling syringe at such a careless angle. Because by then, the needle had embedded into the skin of her palm with her thumb accidentally pushing some medication through her bloodstream in the process of the _grabbing action_.

It was all too quick.

And before they knew it, the kunoichi's feral hormones had sky rocketed and everything else just felt so right.

Withdrawing from his trance, Gaara leaned back on his chair. Had it not been for that incident, he wouldn't have figured the happenings going on in the council's calendar. Because the council was planning to choose Gaara's _mate_, they made those chemicals in that room and lined those syringes in preparation for whatever twisted operation they schemed.

It had Gaara wondering. Were they that desperate? Or did they really had doubts about his interest in the opposite gender.

He sighed.

Apparently, the council no longer had to explain themselves... for now, since they really didn't know what happened. He had long disposed of all evidence and brought the worn out Sakura to her provided apartment. Based on what he observed, whatever medication the council devised was very... cruel in a humane way.

Cruel, in Gaara's opinion, because it left the victim—in this case Sakura—unaware of her sudden pregnancy.

Yet humane... because... she was unaware of _how_ they wrestled life into her womb.

He blinked.

He sighed.

In a way, he didn't regret the things he had done... He also didn't blame Sakura for what she did. Everything was just a coincidence.

The council wanted an heir so early; they already have one on the way.

But his problem now was how was he going to explain himself to them?

How will he manage to fend off all other wild women—the council chose—throwing themselves at him the next following days? Being the Kazekage, he had all right to accept and deny. He was fairly contented with one. He was fine with Sakura.

But it seemed like a strict taboo to not mingle with outsiders...

Perhaps he should change that rule.

He was fine with Sakura...

...

Why was he fine with Sakura?

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and the appearance of said kunoichi left his mind blank. His heart heavily fluttered, unconsciously flaring his chakra for a second before he forced himself to calm down, though his heart still raced. He felt a warm tingle brush his face, eliciting the accumulation of sweat to thinly layer his face. It was only then did he notice how warm the office got.

And all that happened within a split second.

"Kazekage-sama" bowed Sakura before striding towards his desk, her medic-coat flapping against her pale thighs as she walked.

He immediately withdrew his eyes, hoping that she didn't notice. All professional thoughts can easily fly off the window if she's not careful. He knew, aside from the elite ninjas guarding his towers, they were still virtually alone in that floor and two other floors below them.

"We need to talk," began Sakura, "not as client and consultant, nor Kage and jounin, nothing professional..."

Gaara... couldn't... understand what this woman wanted!

"Then why are you here?" he dared to ask

"I'm here because... because I don't know what to do anymore" said the kunoichi through struggled breaths, a sign that she was breaking down. She tilted her head back up, blinking back tears before speaking once more, "I don't know why you chose me out of the many females in your village, but... I... I don't know"

"I'm pregnant Gaara. I'm seventeen and I'm pregnant. I'm a ninja and I'm pregnant. As far as I know I'm a virgin and the next thing I know I'm pregnant, god damn it" she hissed, pounding a fist on his desk as she slouched over it.

There was a momentary pause in his room. Lust made way for sympathy, until it was sympathy itself that awakened his conscience. He began having second thoughts about his regret and wondered if he should be regretting for what he had done.

Through a muffled voice, coherent words echoed, "why did you do it, Gaara?"

He blinked, was she playing dumb? Or was she regretting what she did? He didn't know. He was confused and it bothered him. His conscience was nagging him for things he didn't even know he did.

And then, it struck him. Because the medication caused her hormones to spike, it probably affected her neurological function, affecting her memory... or probably because the number of hormones circuiting through her veins had to be compromised with her memory.

But who knew? They were all just theories forming in his head as means of a defense mechanism.

"Why?" repeated Sakura

Of course all his theories still didn't answer why he gave in to her. So he gave her that clichéd line that he practiced over and over.

"Because I chose you"

She slowly lifted her head to reveal a pair of puffy, glossy eyes, and a red-tinted nose. Through a choked sob, she softly asked, "why?"

He blinked, his mind going over drive, how was he going to explain himself now? After all... he should have been asking himself why he had chosen her. He should have.

Now he found himself face to face with a woman that has a great impact on him as of this moment, and could no longer think of any comprehensible answer that would satisfy her. "I don't kno—"

"Gaara!" hissed Temari as she barged into his office; the strength of her arrival caused a handful of paperwork scatter. Her panicked and solemn aura drowned all the drama in the room. For once, Gaara would no longer have to worry about answering Sakura's question... in the expense of facing the unknown.

"The council," began Temari, "they know"

Gaara said nothing more but one word that seemed to summarize everything else that mattered, "Fuck"

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**A/N: Yowww!! Gotta seriously get back to studying for Logic now, examz are tomorrow, and it's already a quarter to four... yeah, random. But bye~**

**Please leavez a review, gotta need some constructive criticism, what you hated what you liked, what you don't know... not some mindless flame as if you're mad at everything you own.**

**Okiez~? Bye~~~**


	3. The Final Decision

**A/N: Ahem, I apologize for my hasty performance from the last ****installment****, but, seriously I had to get back to studying—it was exam week... Yeah, when it comes to priorities, I set the more important things... yeah, I'm a writer, yes, though it may sound harsh and cold-hearted, we've got to face it, there's more to life than writing fanfic for free...**

**Think about it...**

**Chapter Two**

"The council, they know"

Gaara was silent for a moment, before a curse rolled off his tongue. Consequences were racing against his calculative mind, and he could feel himself nearly stumbling into a tangled mess. He had to think carefully, and plan charily.

He wasn't sure what the council had in mind. And he wouldn't want to risk facing them unprepared... now that he had Sakura to worry about as well. Had he any brows, they would have knotted at the newfound stress the redhead began drowning in.

For a moment, he was slowly detaching himself from all forms of emotion to step out of the box and view his problem from a different angle. And systematically, he began to analyze the components of his tangled mess.

First of all, why was he so worked up with the fact that he got Sakura pregnant? Because she was his first time, and it came out reckless. It was a ridiculous answer his conscience gave him, but it was true. He was reckless; he allowed his hormones to get the better of him. And because of the unexpected turn of events, he was now at the most delicate part of his life that could practically renounce his title as Kazekage.

Well sure, since Sakura wasn't a Suna nin, he automatically committed treason. His bloodline now runs through the life growing inside an outsider's womb. He paused. Technically, she's from an allying village. He wondered... would it make any difference?

Well that would depend on the council's single-minded, biased perception.

It was a matter of reasoning well. Perhaps, his child with the kunoichi could be another way to strengthen allies with Konoha. He blinked, slightly satisfied with his conclusive thoughts.

Turning back to his sister, he asked, "and their reaction?"

Temari arched a worried brow, "word just got out that they found out"

"How?" asked a breathless Sakura, who was bright enough to pick up on the situation

"The hospital and their sources," stated Temari

Turning to a pensive Gaara, Sakura asked hesitantly, "now what?"

"We talk to them"

"Now?" chorused the two kunoichis

"Can you handle it?" asked Gaara, turning to Sakura who shook her head softly, "you're exhausted, you need all the energy you can get for tomorrow." _Tomorrow's conference will be very chaotic_, he added inwardly.

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**Next Day [**_**Konoha**_**]  
**

"Um..." stuttered a meek Shizune, "I was just wondering, how you can know if you're pregnant within just three days?"

Tsunade raised a brow, but never looked up from her paperwork. "We're ninjas, Shizune, but apparently, being a medic nin makes all the difference."

The brunette blinked, "how?"

With a sigh, Tsunade continued, "because you're a medic nin, you have better control over your chakra as trained. One will be familiar with her body and its works, you need to, to survive being a medic nin. Other than the fact that you are familiar with your own body and chakra signature, you have heightened sensitivity towards other's chakra."

Shizune blinked, yet again

With a roll of her hazel eyes, Tsunade added, "Which means you can automatically tell that you're pregnant. You will immediately sense that second chakra signature—even you have chakra"

"I do?" beamed Shizune in slight excitement

"Sure, chakra is more than just the energy you need to execute a certain jutsu; it is your life energy." Before returning back to paperwork, the Hokage paused, "why'd you ask?"

The younger of the two subtly brushed her hand against her pocket, before letting out a false smile, "just curious, well, I'm just gonna go grab a bite," then she hesitantly added, "wanna come?"

Tsunade lazily waved her off, mumbling about paperwork. The girl slightly smiled, ever since that glitch with Sakura's mission report, the blonde had been perusing the documents with solemn vigour. After closing the door behind her, she leaned against it for a thoughtful moment.

She was hoping that the Hokage would join her for lunch; there was something she needed to discuss with the blonde. Her hand dove in her pocket, retrieving a small scroll delivered by a homing pigeon from Suna. She unravelled it and reread its contents.

Shizune chewed her lower lip.

"What's that?"

The brunette squeaked in surprise. Apparently another blonde didn't know the meaning of personal space. Straightening herself up, Shizune let out a friendly smile, "just a letter... and why are you here?"

Out of boredom, Naruto focused on the brunette's sudden air of anonymity, a sly grin framed his whiskered face, "just a letter, huh? So, whose it from?" he waggled his brows he cheekily leaned in closer, "a secret admirer?"

The brunette's smile fell, yet kept a kinder demeanor, "I wish it was just as simple as that, Naruto"

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**[Suna]**

Metal teeth ran through pink hair as Sakura brushed away wet, tangled locks. She moved robotically against the mirror in the bathroom, jaded green eyes staring through her own. Two dark prominent smudges under each eye displayed her insomnia last night. She was troubled.

And Temari, who sat on the edge of the hotel bed facing the bathroom, watched the medic nin from the open doorway. Accompanying Sakura back to the Kage tower was probably a smart decision, she thought. After all, this was a crisis she knew Sakura wasn't capable of managing on her own.

She sympathized for the girl. Though she may not know what may be going on in her head, she understood how much of a burden it was to be carrying a child. She was just seventeen; she was at the beginning of her journey towards being a successful kunoichi who can achieve so much. Sakura had potential. Correction: Sakura has potential.

Then guilt dawned upon her. Maybe she did know something about the whole incident. But who could she blame? She didn't like those hand-picked females the council chose, they even called her attention to warn her about being a candidate for crying out loud!!

Right then and there, she was worried about what the council schemed.

So in a way, Sakura also saved her...

And in return, she knew was indebted to that morose kunoichi in the bathroom. After all, everything happened accidentally. Nothing was planned, nothing was timed. It was all just pure coincidence—save for the council's schemes.

With a sigh, the least she could do for Sakura now was to make her feel better. So with a smile, she asked, "what are you expecting?"

"The unexpected" deadpanned Sakura as she yanked her brush harder from her head leaving an angry knot tied to one of the metal teeth. The pinkette blankly stared at it before resuming her brush as if it wasn't something to fret over... when in fact it should have. She could have a bald spot right now for all she knew!

Temari rolled her eyes at the comment, "I mean are you expecting a baby boy or a baby girl?"

Sakura paused thoughtfully and her eyes fell to her belly through her reflection, "I never thought of that"

"Well, think of it now" suggested the blonde, calmly leaning against her elbows

A hopeful smile brought life to Sakura's pale face as she set down her brush. "I want a son," she said meekly, hands gently palming her abdomen.

"A son," repeated Temari, "why?"

Sakura shrugged, "why not? If Gaara wanted an heir, it would be fitting if he had a son..."

The blonde raised and lowered her shoulders, "makes sense... so... what do you plan to name him?"

Sakura thoughtfully hummed as hands rested on her hips while eyeing her belly; she shook her head with a defeated sigh, a sombre smile replacing the former. The blonde watched her, waiting for an answer... or just something to say.

"I've always wanted to name my son after his father..." mumbled Sakura

"Oh, you wanna know our father's name..?" stated Temari with an uneasy edge, naming Gaara's child after his father would seem like taboo... She knew the relationship between Gaara and their father was never a good one—

"No..." came Sakura's small answer, "I've been dreaming to name him... Fugaku" she blinked then turned to Temari before a small, pained smile traced her lips, "but I guess that would just seem ridiculous right now..."

Temari perfectly understood her... and it fuelled the guilt ravaging her sanity. She was left speechless because of the pinkette's crushed dreams, but she could do nothing more but feign ignorance.

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Gaara sat in his office, arms folded, desk neat, face calm, yet thoughts preoccupied.

It was a strange meeting they were having.

He expected the big, dark room he never heard of that existed somewhere in the depths of this very tower... but no. The council... or perhaps two of its members, decided to hold the meeting in his office... over tea.

Nothing but silence filled the air, excluding the constant sipping of tea and plates clattering ever so slightly against the coffee table they brought in. The redhead found it ridiculous. They were trying to keep a calm and relaxing atmosphere over such a tentative issue.

They just arrived thirty minutes ago, and their progress in the meeting was as good as no progress at all. Perhaps they were waiting for Gaara to crack up and spill... or let him lose his sanity and then let take guilt over and begin to explain himself. A mental scoff reverberated against his thoughts, he can never imagine—okay, maybe he did imagine himself doing that, but he can never imagine doing that for real.

His pride said otherwise. And he planned to keep it that way.

As a matter of fact, he will remain silent unless he had been given a statement or a question. And as if on cue, his former sensei, Baki, began at last.

"I've got nothing to say Gaara," sighed the half-masked man

_Then why speak?_ He retorted inwardly

"But what I don't understand is..." he could tell the man was having a hard time choosing his words over such delicate matter, "is why you chose that kunoichi?"

A question Gaara predicted and so came his rehearsed speech, "why not?"

Baki scoffed, surprised at his former student's non-chalance, he answered quickly; "because you know that this is _treason_" then he lowered his voice, "Kazekage-sama..."

Baki resumed sipping his tea.

Gaara watched the strange man with amusement. Why the sudden meekness? He had all the right to scold him, believed the redhead. He was a former student; he was used to being reprimanded... if he ever had been reprimanded. Come to think of it... he was never reprimanded unless they wanted to die so soon.

Usually Baki implied his reprimands through suggestive thoughts... which Gaara never took seriously. So maybe he reprimanded now so that he _would _be taken seriously... but who knew right? They were just theories after all.

Tearing a gaze he never knew he held so intense, Gaara turned to the other member... an old man. Then it came to him, he was the brother of Chiyo.... something. Well, the old lady who revived him after the extraction of the Shukaku.

Apparently, the old man was waiting for his statement.

"It isn't" answered Gaara

"Kazekage-sama," said Baki, his voice firm yet formal, "I do not wish to insult you, but should I remind you that you have allowed yourself to mingle with an undeserving outsider who now carries your child. _That_, my lord, is treason"

The old man added, "He's right" pouring more tea into his cup

Gaara couldn't believe all the things he was hearing. Were they _this_ predictable? With an inward smirk, he knew that if things went as planned, he will soon have his ways. Eyeing the old man, Gaara pointed out, "This _undeserving outsider_ happens to be from an allying village"

Then turning to Baki, Gaara continued, "Do you wish to insult our allies by pronouncing my act as treason?"

Baki faltered, stuttering a bit before accepting defeat, with a sigh, the former sensei spoke, "so you wish to strengthen our bonds with our allies this way?"

"When you look at it, we basically have them tied to us. They can't betray us because of my child being the fruit of our bonds. If prestigious clans performed this, then why can't it happen between allying villages?"

Baki nodded at the new perception, it made sense.

"So how are you going to explain this to the Hokage?" asked the old man, catching the redhead's attention, he added, "is she aware that her precious student has been chosen by the great Kazekage?"

Gaara stared at him then asked slowly, "Then does this mean that you have approved of my choice?"

The old man set his tea down, "As Kazekage, you have been granted permission to choose any female _within_ our walls, so your decisions will always be fine by us. Apparently, this isn't any female _within our walls_, Kazekage-sama. Because of this, we must first have the consent of both Haruno-san and the Hokage. And if all goes well, then I approve."

"May I ask" began Gaara

"You may"

Gaara held an internal debate on whether or not he should mention about finding the syringes in the examination room four days ago. Aware that his inquiry may lead to several more questions, he wondered if he should question about it.

However, before words managed to form, he was interrupted by the old man.

"So Haruno-san," called the old man, smiling behind his tea, "what say you?"

Caught off guard, Sakura's presence grew prominent from behind the door in an instant. It was as if she had been concealing her chakra all the while. She stepped in and bowed, greeting everyone in the room. Gaara stiffened, wondering if how he spoke would cloud her judgment. They were just rehearsed words assembled the night before this conference. None of them were true... though it seemed reasonable.

He swallowed when he caught a fleeting glance from her emerald eyes before settling them before the old man. What was going to happen? What was she going to say? If she approves, she keeps the child... and then what?

He blinked, that was something he wondered the most. And yet, he remained anxious, what will happen if she doesn't approve? Will she drop the child?

...

His brain suddenly stopped functioning at the dreaded thought.

Oh dear Kami, anything but that...

But why did it matter if she dropped it?

Because it did. Because he was going to be a father—correction: he will be a father, and she will be the mother. The small thought seemed pleasant. At last... he could have a family he never had. He will be a father... one that his father never was.

And with Sakura... well... he didn't exactly know... what he would do to her. Perhaps... she'll take care of his kid while he's at work... and feed it... and change the diapers--before realizing if any of that should matter, or why he suddenly thought of that ridiculous idea, within a split second all thoughts ceased to an end when he focused his attention to the kunoichi's answer, because that alone will set what he should worry about.

"Well, Ebizo-san, I first came to a decision... and now" paused Sakura, an unfathomable gaze settling on the redhead, "I've decided to change my mind..."

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**A/N: And there you have it! Thanks to those who reviewed~ Please keep on reviewing about stuff you liked and don't like, or those you don't even understand, and I shall enlighten you all as we venture through the story~~**

**Weee~~**

**Hope you guys enjoyed!! 'Til next time!!**


	4. More Witnesses

Chapter three

Mesmerized by the suffocating heat engulfing them both, bodies began moving on their own accord. Gentleness was not an issue for it was overthrown by feral passion radiating from the kunoichi, which amused the Kazekage erotically so.

He drowned her in his own savage, needy kisses as his tongue lazily, yet forcefully glided against hers until he harvested an erotic whimper from the back of her throat. Upon instinct, her hands desperately roamed his back and teasingly played with his hair.

He gingerly cradled her head before forcefully tilting it to the side and dove his tongue deeper, earning a startled whimper before tasting her even more. A deep, sultry moan reverberated against his mouth as she began sliding her shapely leg against his before hooking it on his waist, manoeuvring her hip to ground against his sensitive length.

Both shuddered and moaned before recklessly deepening the kiss. Gaara took in her intoxicating tongue and suckled it before latching on to her bottom lip, trapping the plump flesh prior to tracing it with his tongue. Sakura gasped at the building pressure surfacing from primal needs as thick, heated liquid pooled in her loins.

Broad warm hands began exploring her burning body, pausing to palm her clothed breast. He left her swollen lips and simultaneously lifted her with his sand before nuzzling the crook of her neck to hungrily nibble its sensitive flesh. She mewled throatily, head falling to the side as slender fingers gripped red locks of hair.

It wasn't long before a cold hard surface met her back and rough texture began slithering around her soft thighs, gradually parting them wider until knees met cold wall. It allowed greater feel to his broad, warm form, blanketing her front as he began rolling his hips roughly against her.

Ragged breaths escaped through gritted teeth from both parties with Sakura whimpering and Gaara grunting. Large hands now palmed her bare, fleshy braes, rocking himself harder against her as she undulated underneath him with her back arching off the wall. Every grinding contact that met their sensitized members aroused them even more.

"More" she moaned against his ear.

His hands began proving themselves as they played her taut nipples before he harshly lifted her shirt and dove his head to latch onto one of them. The scalding sensation cascaded through her body and built up in the pit of her belly the moment a lazy tongue swirled her nipple.

She whined in protest when the warmth tore away from her skin. Though a beginner, he still wasn't one to disappoint; he pacified her with teeth scraping sensitive nipple. Gaara couldn't help but smirk against her skin for managing to tame her aggression with ease. And because of that, she was rewarded with a sudden heated rub through her shorts, harvesting a sharp shriek that echoed against the walls.

He released her breast and moved on to the other, sucking hard before trapping her pebbled nipple between his teeth for his tongue to tease its tip. She squeaked his name and thrust her chest against his face while he still rolled circles around her bundle of nerves; muscles hidden under milky white thighs began spasming against the sand that held them in place, and yet, she still wanted:

"More," she whimpered, eyes screwed shut before she bit her lower lip.

His hand quickly dove in her shorts and slid his finger along her mellifluously dripping mistress before the pad of his finger began massaging the raw flesh--

A jolt of pleasure caused her to spasm as she cried out in ecstasy. He began moving tight circles and pressed his upper torso unto hers. Lips left her fleshy globes to envelope hers, tongue slipped past parted lips to glide through all the sweet crevices in her orifice. A moan tore through her throat as she felt the heated maelstrom stirring in the pit of her stomach.

Though constrained by his sand, she managed to start bucking her hips. It wasn't long before Gaara could no longer hold back and rivulets of sand began to slither her shorts and panties down her legs until they dropped to his feet.

Now in her full glory with her back and knees pinned against the wall by his sand, the breathlessly flushed Sakura was a wet dream that was beyond exotically perfect to Gaara.

All this registered in his mind for a split second before he grunted in impatience and began unzipping his pants, already too riled up to take them off. He had to take her now.

He settled his green eyes on her lust-hazed ones and watched in anticipation as his throbbing shaft nuzzled its head by her entrance. He hissed in excitement as more juices continuously flowed from her orifice to coat him; ready to embed her reaction towards their first coupling, he braced himself, thrusted sharply and--

"_Gaara!_"

X  
X  
X

Sakura gasped in surprise before her body fell limp against the bed. She released a knuckle-white grip on the sheets and blinked away her disorientation. She stared at the ceiling for a moment and acknowledged the adrenaline rush pulsing through her veins.

Before she could even wonder why, she began to furiously blush as remnants of her vivid dream invaded her memory. Everything felt so real--

A small shift in her bed brought attention to the insides of her thighs... She parted them slightly out of curiosity before wincing in disgust. She wet herself.

Carefully sitting up, she was also aware with how sticky It felt... Did she actually just cum because of that dream?

...

Well, she was sure for one thing though; she couldn't get back to sleep now. Turning to read the digital clock on her bedside table, she noted that it was four-something in the morning.

She might as well use her time well; the conference won't start for another three hours. Perhaps a long soothing bath will calm her nerves. She'd need the full capacity of her mind later on for she never really knew what to expect. And as far as how things are right now, another dose of raging hormones would be the last thing she needed.

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Sasuke leaned against the tallest of three wooden poles. How could he forget Team Seven's first training with the unruly Hatake?

A small smirk framed his expressionless face, remembering how impulsive Naruto was and how feeble Sakura had been--it was a priceless memory... Though what should have been ten years of training, Sakura and Naruto managed to cut it down to less than a half. But of course, he knew his teammates had potential, but he never expected this much potential.

A lot has happened for over the past two years, realized Sasuke. Ever since the second destruction of Konoha, caused by Pain eighteen months ago, Sand had become Konoha's fortress of safety while the shattered village began rebuilding itself.

The month after that, Akatsuki assigned his team to hunt down Pain and eliminate him. A week after that, he attempted an assassination of Madara were Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo sacrificed their lives for the sake of Sasuke's success...

In the end, he did nothing but cut the mastermind's chakra to half before the young Uchiha passed out.

He woke up in Konoha's hospital after a month, he was told that Kisame brought him here and told informed the Hokage that if they wanted to infiltrate the Akatsuki, now was the right time. Joining forces with the best of nins from both Suna and Konoha, they managed to put an end to Akatsuki, in exchange for the loss of the shark man.

Nine months ago, Konoha was independently standing on its own again with a few enhancements that fortified its defenses with the help of the Kazekage's suggestion and Shikamaru.

A week after that, Sasuke was put on trial where it came to a conclsion that he was to be monitored twentyfour-seven at an unspoken period of time to judge whether or not he was to be executed for commiting a crime that equalled a death penalty.

He knew there was nothing to worry about, since he just wanted to start anew--live a new life that can save him from venturing deeper into a dark abyss.

From there, a hopeful Sakura finally awakened him, and at long last, the determined kunoichi got her wish. Though he was still adjusting to the idea, he allowed her to become a part of his life... So to speak. He acknowledged her presence, responded when she greeted him and tried to return her smiles she gave him. Though he knew she still gave him the benefit of doubt, her innocent display of affection gradually thawed his indifference and her from doubt.

Peace reigned for three months until Shikamaru brought up the issue regarding the statue that imprisoned all eight juubis. Here Sakura suggested that they should seal the whole statue away in another dimension, a skill Kakashi was capable of but still needed the help of a true Sharingan user.

And it took them another month of practice before succeeding. Because of the act, remnants of doubt began to collapse as the village slowly began accepting the lone Uchiha.

Those were the highlights of the last two years since Konoha's second destruction. A lot has happened, and just recently he came home from a B-ranked mission with Kakashi and Sai from Amegakure, regarding a rising war to absorb the ruined village.

Sasuke sighed, figuring that it was Konoha's ways of regaining respect and power, fearing that one day another invasion may occur. But who could he blame? In his opinion, Suna was just another candidate who can betray this village so easily.

"SASUKE-TEME!!" yelled a familiar voice

Keeping his lax posture, he managed to lift a hand to wave at the approaching blonde. Though he may have grown, there were still some things that never seemed to have changed.

"Hey Sasuke!" panted Naruto, slowing down to a full stop before the Uchiha, the blonde bent over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"If you wish to exhaust yourself with a spar, I think you've already outdone yourself," spoke Sasuke

Naruto shook his head before planting his hands on his hips while straightening his back. Taking on deeper breaths, he spoke "just to confirm the rumors, you and Sakura-chan are dating right?"

"Be careful Naruto," began Sasuke, keeping a calculate gaze at the curios blonde, "for rumors are never reliable sources"

"Yeah, yeah" said Naruto, waving off the Uchiha's philosophical streak, "but it is true right?"

Yes it was, but Sasuke felt unsure if his blonde friend could handle the idea as much as he did just yet. So instead, he asked "why?"

"Yeah well because," and so Naruto began babbling animatedly, obviously procrastinating for the past few minutes, still going around the bush as he hesitated to reach something in his pockets. Quickly, Sasuke rose to his feet and snatched the small parchment from the blonde and read it.

"Um..." began Naruto when Sasuke kept a steady eye on the blonde. "I was gonna slowly break it to you teme--"

"How did you get this?" asked Sasuke, a poisonous edge tainting his voice.

"From Shizu-neechan" answered Naruto like a frigtened puppy

Without another word Sasuke pocketed the parchment and began racing back to the village.

"Where are you going?" called out Naruto who later on caught up with the Uchiha's hurried strides.

"The tower"

"Why?"

No longer in the mood to talk, he shunshin-ed out of sight. The blonde was left hanging, but still kept his hurried pace. He began wondering if he should have told Sasuke in the first place, where later on pieces of his functional mind made way for regret to dominate his thoughts.

"_Oh crap what have I done?!"_

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Shizune should have figured out that the Hokage will know sooner or later.

Tsunade should have figured out that the unexpected are bound to happen.

And Sasuke figured out just recently that he should have killed Gaara long ago in the Chuunin exams... That way, none of this will happen.

A thoughtful pause increased the tension in the air. It just so happened that Shizune was trying to start a small talk with the Hokage to warm her up before dropping the bomb. But like a thief in the night, Sasuke suddenly appeared out of thin air displaying constrained violence as he constantly demanded Sakura's mission report.

From there, he challenged Tsunade's sane mind, which later on summoned a guilty confession from Shizune. And after that, silence came... Just like it would every after storm.

However, it wasn't long enough until another storm barged in.

"I'm sorry it's my fault, I should have realized that Sakura-chan's letter was supposed to be a secret! I shouldn't have stolen the letter in the first place, so blame me instead of Shizu-neechan! And if Sasuke's planning to kill Gaara don't let him, because his village still needs... him... And" Naruto blinked, "oh. Hi everybody" and the blonde awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Well, another victim thrown into the throng of insanity," remarked Tsunade, "anything else?"

Naruto quickly shook his head before closing the door behind him when he was beckoned.

"Any useful suggestions?"

"Ano..." began Shizune, "I've received another letter from Suna, this time, it's from their advisory council"

The Hokage beckoned the letter, the rest waited in anticipation. Finally Tsunade looked up, "they'll be having a conference regarding this issue today. Unless we approve, Gaara's decisions will be allowed--"

"Then don't"

Interested, Tsunade turned to the Uchiha, "reason yourself"

"He's just using Sakura," stated Sasuke with haste

"He is?!" gasped Naruto

"Can't you even tell that he took advantage of her?" added Sasuke after his comrade's naïveté encouraged him.

The busty blonde smirked, "like the way you are now?"

Sasuke was silenced.

"Uchiha, you have been very selfish from the moment you stepped into this village's academy, how can I tell that I'm not just doing you a favor, but a favor for everyone else, too?"

Sasuke was given time to think as the Hokage's attention flew to the blonde who suggested, "why don't we send a letter to Sakura-chan first? I mean, if she's alright with it, I don't see why it isn't with you. I mean, Sakura's got to have her reasons, shouldn't we hear her out first before deciding on this?"

With a nod, Tsunade beckoned for the fastest falcon as she began writing her letter. Everyone in the room was given the chance to have a say. Everyone. Including Sasuke.

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Startled by a presence, Sakura jolted out from the bath tub with a towel draping her form. By the open window, perched a mahogany brown falcon with a letter tied to each foot. It squawked as keen yellow eyes watched the kunoichi approach.

Taking both letters, she dispelled the ninjutsu set on the falcon to send it home. Drying herself up and quickly throwing a clean set of clothes on, she quickly drained the tub before settling on the bed.

Unravelled the first letter, she decoded it and read. It was from Tsunade, first reprimanding her for what she did without even thinking, second would be informing her on what to expect for later's conference. Tsunade said that her decision will depend on the kunoichi's choice, so unless Sakura reasoned well, Gaara was going to step down from his seat and have their child aborted.

Next was Shizune, begging Sakura to never let anyone abort her child. And then there was Naruto, begging her to make sure that Gaara remains Kazekage and to take care of herself, adding a little side note that he would want to be the godfather of their child.

Well, that supported her a lot.

Then she turned to the second later-- she held her breath, it was from Sasuke.

_Sakura,_

_I hope you know what you're doing. But I'm disappointed in you, you let me down when I've given you a chance. I don't understand._

_Just reason well. You don't have to do this. I don't want you to. _

Her mind was left blank. The conference was an hour from now and here she was, left alone with a handful of her dearest people aware about her pregnancy. And all of them were hoping for a well reasoned decision.

Her brain took a full overdrive as she began to analyze everything and tried to weigh the consequences that her decision will fall into. Until finally, the simplest of options had surfaced from accumulating thoughts.

Will she choose to become selfless to save Gaara? Or become selfish to save Sasuke?

Will she be logical enough to sacrifice her body to help Gaara or let her heart take the lead and give it to Sasuke?

...

Whatever was happening now seemed to test her loyalty. And it troubled her for she was no longer sure as to whom it should belong to.

The incident with Gaara was still unclear, but he has got to have his reasons. Sasuke abandoned her once and still could if she wasn't careful.

In the end, she finally realized, it all just came down to this: Sasuke? Or Gaara?

...

Three bangs on the door and Sakura opened it. She blinked and forced a smile, "Temari"

The blonde beamed cordially and greeted the kunoichi, "Good Morning, wanna grab a bite before going to the tower?"

Sakura couldn't help but smile, "yeah, strawberry ice cream in miso soup sounds nice right now"

"Erm...?" Temari paused, scanning the exhausted kunoichi, "sure, but at least brush your hair first, 'kay?"

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"Well Ebizo-san, I've first come to a decision... And now, I've decided to change my mind..." began Sakura, "I'll only come to a conclusion if Kazekage-sama has reasoned well with me"

Bowing to initiate her leave, she added one more thing just before she left, "and by the end of this week, you'll have an answer"

Gaara blinked as the door shut, at least he gave her time to device another batch of lies to convince her not to drop it... Or he could always just tell the truth...?

Never mind, he still had a week to manipulate her. And it was better to act as soon as possible. After all, this wouldn't be too hard; he always got what he wanted in the end anyway.

"Well then," said Ebizo, rising from his seat, "I guess that concludes today's meeting then, bye Kazekage-sama" he bowed along with Baki

As Gaara watched the council members leave, he couldn't help but ask, "Ebizo-san, didn't you retire long ago?"

The old man just smiled at him, "I did, I just wanted to see how well you react to such delicate matters"

Gaara blinked as Ebizo added, "that girl, Kazekage-sama, you need her"

And with those parting words, Gaara feared he knew what the old man meant. And it wasn't just about keeping his title as Kazekage.

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Sakura exited the Kazekage's office sooner than what Temari expected. The kunoichi hurried her pace in hopes of avoiding the curious blonde, who now stood next to Kankuro.

_Great,_ thought Sakura, _more witnesses_.

"Will I be having a nephew?" Kankuro asked playfully

Sakura was somewhat glad that she didn't have to kill his hopes quite soon. When she remained silent and hurried down the stairs Temari hurried after her and asked with a pained voice, "Are you... Are you gonna--"

"I dunno" hollered Sakura, keeping her pace and never looking back, her voice just echoed, "your brother has a week to talk me into this."

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**A/N: Wow! That just felt like the longest chapter yet!! Phew~!!**

**Wahahahaha, well because I can now type this story through my iPhone, I can now type anywhere at any time~!!! Weeeeee, no need to use laptop... Unless I need to post up an installment~! ^^**

**'til next time, please don't forget to review~ **

**An author gots ta have one~! ^^**

**I needs ta feel yer lurve~!! Plus I need to know my improvements, or what you guys liked or hated or needs an explanation, please give an effort to send a review just as I would to conjure another chap for you guys~**

**^u^**


	5. Efforts to Reason

**Chapter Four**

Sakura believed that when she couldn't find the solution to her problems, the solution would come to her... And not the problem. Apparently, in this situation, the solution was her problem.

An hour had barely past since the conference and she hadn't even started her first class. And yet, here she stood, just outside the examination room filled with medic nins who could be eavesdropping on them by now.

Before her, stood Gaara--Correction: Before her, towered Gaara. Still, she managed to avoid succumbing to his air of authority by folding her arms before her.

Honestly, she was tired thinking for herself and just decided to go with the better flow. Unless she hears Gaara's real reasons and not the fabricated lies he explained to the council members, then she might as well hop into his current of the river.

"Well?" asked an impatient Sakura. Little did she know that amidst Gaara's brave front, he too was struggling for the right words to say.

He blinked at her, no longer thinking straight enough to begin his practiced words. He spent nearly an hour rehearsing his supposed speech in his office before meeting up with this kunoichi, but now she was ruining everything by just standing a few inches away from him.

If he hadn't kept a mental mantra that she was pregnant, he would have trapped her by now, pressed her against the wall and tame her aggression all over again. It could have been all too easy.

But it was different now; though he was having a hard time with this feisty kunoichi, a little deviation from the monotonous routine of his daily life was more than enough to strengthen his determination to win this situation over. He never lost in a reasonable debate, and he planned to keep it that way. He never lost in mind games and he doesn't plan to change it now.

Now, if only he could remember his opening statement--

"Gaara, if you should know, you're wasting my time. I'm still on a mission to train your hospital, unless you have something important to tell me, just spit it out"

Gaara blinked, no one ever talked to him this way. This kunoichi placed lesser priorities above him, he didn't know whether he was angered or surprised, but either way, it left him speechless. However his silence didn't last any longer when Sakura turned her back on him.

"Halt" he commanded, she did but never looked back, "at least explain to me--"

"Explain what?" hissed Sakura, "It's not in my position to explain what you did to me. I had a life Gaara, and now I'm tied to your leash! Sasuke even--" she scoffed, planted her hands on her hips and titled her head back. He didn't deserve to know her reasons until she heard his first.

Until then, she'll remain silent. With a thoughtful pause her hand rested on the doorknob before slightly looking over her shoulder, "forget it, " she murmured, "just reason well the next time we meet"

Gaara remained standing there. A small thought spurred his interest until it escaped his lips "how did Sasuke end up getting involved in this?"

He mulled it over, wondering as he began picking up the puzzles. Theories began to take root in his mind as it brought forth cunning strategies that might lead to his success. It wasn't long before his sand enveloped him as he shunshin-ed himself back to his office. He began writing a mission report on his own and encoded the title as "Raven Watch"

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Sasuke sat by the river of the training grounds. His sandals stood by his side as he dipped his feet into the water... Something Sakura always did after they sparred.

And then from there, she would just smile to herself until he caught her and asked why. She would just shake her head and smile smaller at him, hint of fear and sadness would fill them before she would look away.

He sighed. He knew that she feared reigniting those old feelings she had for him. He even remembered trying to offer his first kiss to her. Then she would chuckle telling him that Naruto had already claimed it from him.

Here she'd burst into laughing shamelessly at him, as if insulting him for his manliness. And then, he grew furious and silenced the kunoichi with the most passionate of kisses he could ever imagine.

From that day on, they had been dating, but that was the last kiss he'd given her since... Probably it was because he grew too proud to re-enact that fiery moment... When he secretly wished that he could kiss her again whenever he felt like it and wished that he could never give a damn as to what others would think.

He missed her. He missed her a lot.

When they parted for their own missions, Sasuke had a lot of faith in Sakura that he was the one for her, that she would never play him or take advantage of him. With her, he felt safe; he no longer had to hate everything, he no lover had to fear anyone up until now. He hated the fear of losing her.

She made him feel vulnerable and betrayed and hurt and confused and everything that explained all the negativities that fermented his being.

Gripping a fistful of grass blades, he ripped it off from its soil before releasing them. From the built up anger, he huffed and eased the tension in his face. He had been frowning at the thought and it took its toll on him: he now found it hard to stop scowling.

Sakura's mission was effective for two weeks, but she was to leave after two weeks. Why? It was because of some stupid annual thing between Suna and Konoha...

Which means that nins from either village can visit one another without the fear of invasion. How stupid can they be? That new annual whatever has become their most vulnerable point!

How can a village totally surrender its trust to another village without the process of an invasion or war? As a matter of fact, Konoha didn't really have to share all of its knowledge with Suna. Just because the allying village helped them out at their lowest point didn't mean they can tell them everything. Suna never shared any form of knowledge with them, did the Hokage even think about that?

Sasuke shook his head, even allowing the Kazekage advise for Konoha's defenses was a potential danger because that would mean Suna's awareness of the village's weak point. And now the Kazekage is using Sakura to harvest a child that will become a living peace treaty between the two villages. Sasuke clenched his jaws.

Sakura deserved better than that. Though she may be a tool for the village, she wasn't Gaara's personal tool. Gaara's child shouldn't be in Sakura, but his.

Because of Sasuke's possessiveness over Sakura, he gradually became obsessed with finding ways to gain her back. He knew he still had a chance with her, because he gave her one. And yet, he envied Gaara all the same.

Perhaps he can blame himself for not allowing his defenses to lower and shower Sakura--no, bathe Sakura with his affections. Even if the thought crossed his mind, he wouldn't admit defeat just yet.

She was the only family he had left. And so he concluded; he wouldn't risk losing her. Again.

It was already high noon, and his plans to resuming his spar no longer interested him. He had more important things to consider now. Withdrawing his feet from the shallow depths of the cool river, he put on his sandals before heading back to the village.

While he was sure he was still important to her, he had to act now. Perhaps he can start planning before fate interrupted him. Again.

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Sakura squatted against the toilet bowl, holding her medic skirt up with her shorts tightened around her knees to keep them from falling.

This was her fifth bathroom break, and the second break in the midst of her class. Though her belly was still flat, seeing to it that she was barely a week pregnant, her need to relieve seem quite vital as of this moment. This was because she had enveloped her chakra around her womb to secure the development of the foetus. It was only this way that she would protect the baby for its first trimester.

Though she may have a lot of consideration for the life growing within her, she avoided emotional attachment. Even if she will allow herself to deliver the child for the sake of Gaara's bloodline, she'd still have hopes of returning to Sasuke.

Perhaps visit her child every now and then...

She sighed. Cleaning herself up before slipping on to her shorts. Just before she left the cubicle--

"--I knew that Haruno girl seemed suspicious!" whined a female. Immediately, Sakura concealed her and her baby's chakra.

"Oh don't get me started with that bitch, Maede-chan" spoke another

Sakura immediately scanned her memory and remembered a brunette medic nin named Maede from the class she handled this morning.

"I knew there was something going on in the forbidden examination room, I knew I heard noises that night!"

"You don't mean..." a gasp resonated before a shriek, "how dare she! Seducing poor Kazekage-sama and torturing him this very moment--did you remember what happened earlier this morning?"

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes, girls gossiping lies; pathetic. But who could she blame, she would've badmouthed anyone who seduced her Sasuke.

"Who wouldn't? Kazekage-sama tried breaking ties with her and she refused to accept it. Putting up an act like that, she's toying his mind, I tell you that"

Sakura had to refrain from scoffing, how dare they speak when they know nothing at all!

"Well Hitsuki-chan, do you know that she's pregnant?" came a meek voice

Ah! Hitsuki, how can Sakura forget that gum chewing medic with heavy makeup.

"Nuh-uh, I'm not hearing any of this. Don't make her 'accidentally' drop it Maede, 'cause I might make sure that the bitch does--"

"Shh!" hissed Maede, "careful, they might hear you. And besides, I have credible source that told me that the Kazekage is just after an heir..."

There was a thoughtful pause, save for the water running on the sink. And then Hitsuki spoke, "who knows, maybe we might still have a chance with Gaara-kun, right Maede"

"Right!"

And the two medic nins left, leaving a pondering Sakura still in her cubicle with paranoid thoughts.

With a tired sigh, she proceeded to washing her hands before re entering her class, forgetting to wear her carefree demeanour.

"Okay," she began, facing the large rectangular table of the examination room where medic nins framed the edges with open notebooks. In the middle, was a plant, two syringes, a test tube rack and a silver tray that contained a slumbering piglet. "Where are we?"

Immediately a hand shot up from the batch, it was a brunette girl with tanned skin she was roughly around her age. Granting her the permission to speak, she asked "are you really with child, Haruno-sensei?"

Keeping a professional front, Sakura responded with a cynical smile. Raising both hands, the kunoichi humored her, "do I really look that fat, Kawasari-san?"

Silenced, the girl meekly shook her head.

"But I saw you this morning eating ice cream in miso soup... That has to be the weirdest choice of meal, sensei" a raven heard kunoichi sitting on the right end of the table spoke

"Come on, Kyomi-chan, it must be a delicacy in Koniha for all we know," interrupted a male medic, whom Sakura mentally thanked

"You should try it some time, it gives you an edge" winked Sakura before walking over to the slumbering piglet--which was merely the size of her forearm--while snapping on rubber gloves.

While flexing her fingers, she began instructing her students regarding this lesson's procedures. While Sakura began drawing out medication from a rubber sealed bottle with an empty syringe, a male medic ask quietly.

"After class, would you be hungry by then?"

The question was as innocent as asking her out, she wouldn't blame him for being just two years older than her. However, at this moment, there was already a boundary set between student and sensei...

So with a smile Sakura quietly and gently denied his offer, which he took well. She had a total of five hours before her duty ends. And after her lunch break she would be tending to the hospital's clinic to train more medic nins regarding heavy injuries. She heard from a source that a few chuunin have returned from a vicious A-ranked mission. She had to give credit to Gaara for those he sent on the mission, the whole platoon returned alive.

Either way, she knew today will be all the more hectic, realizing that she had to have all medic nins well educated before the expected date. She like to get things done sooner... That way, she can focus more on important things.

"Now, based on the lethal poison we studies last meeting, I want to see your techniques on exterminating the intruder before this piglet dies. Five groups of three, each will be given a minute to do this. And if you ever lose the piglet, revive it"

The room fell silent, but she felt the tension. Though it was unintentional, Sakura managed to let her students feel the equal amount of burden she carried.

They still stood still, watching her eye the wall clock with the syringe prepared to inject.

"Groups ready?"

"Yes, sensei" all chorused

The moment she injected the poison, the first group began.

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"Hey Sasuke!" hollered Naruto

Sasuke gave them both an excuse to his silence as he continued chewing his food, greeting the blonde effortlessly with a nod of his head.

The moment Naruto occupied the vacant seat next to the Uchiha and ordered his favourite ramen dish, the blonde turned to him and spoke gently, "you haven't told anyone, yet, right?"

Sasuke looked at him from the corner of his eye before averting his eyes.

"I figured, you're not the sharing type-- and don't worry my lips are sealed"

"Yeah, unless you want to keep it that way... forever" commented the Uchiha

Naruto grinned nervously before thanking the chef as he received his meal. "Um... Look, I dunno what you told Sakura, but she recently wrote, explaining that she gave Gaara a week to talk her into it..."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk as he slurped his noodles.

"But she was wondering if it would be okay to deliver the child but return home to you..."

Sasuke blinked. Then left his tab on the table when Naruto got carried away by his babbling again.

He needed time to ponder. Was he to share Sakura? Well at least she'll be coming home to him and not Gaara. But he still couldn't avoid that twinge of jealousy to spark when he would remind himself that she would deliver Gaara's first child and not his.

But if he considered it, he would be the one to have her in the end. He never realized that he had been walking... Or walking to her apartment for that matter.

...

He stood before her home. As if he expected her to step out and greet him toothily. Her parents already died during Konoha's second destruction. So she was living by herself now.

Out of impulse, he went in with the use of the spare key under the rug. Her home was meticulously neat... Yet dusty. The beige leather sofa and old-fashioned television set was set to his left; on his right, a long curved counter separated the dining table from the kitchen.

Removing his sandals, he padded through the dusty parquet floor and went to tie the simple white curtains in the living room, allowing sunlight to warm her dark home.

He turned around again... And the emptiness began to dawn on him.

"Sakura," he sighed curtly, "I guess I'll surprise you then"

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Gaara conjured several sand clones to make up for the delay in paperwork while he sat in his office with his chin on intertwined fingers.

According to the swift and effective spy he sent, one of his theories have been confirmed. There was something going on between Sakura and the Uchiha.

Gaara respected Sakura's loyalty, and yet couldn't refrain from feeling betrayed. He calmly blinked then leaned back. Jealousy was an emotion he was never accustomed to... He always got what he wanted, and wasn't ashamed with the fact that maybe he was a brat that way...

Gaara mused at his ironic thought, it was roughly five years ago when Sasuke managed to draw blood from him in the Chuunin exams. Perhaps it was another personal battle between the two. The thought excited him. This unspoken battle now required wit, charm, and power... With Sakura being the prize.

And he wanted to win... No. He needed to win.

But why did he want her so badly? That, he couldn't answer for himself, but he just did... Turning to a more antagonistic thought, does sex do these to people? Give you that sense of attachment and possessiveness?

...

Though it didn't exactly sound right at the moment, he didn't really care. He already set his goals and just intended to focus on it. He didn't know when he began acting for no reason at all, but it wouldn't matter until he won Sakura over... Well, into making sure that he gets an heir from her...

...

Wait a minute... What was that called again? Maternal love? All women have that, right? Especially for new mothers... So if he managed to talk Sakura into delivering the baby... Then he might still have her afterwards.

The idea promised him lots, but first.

"Kyori," spoke Gaara as he pressed the little speaker hidden between piles of paper

"Yes, Kazekage-sama?" responded his secretary

"Can you get my sister?"

X

X

X

Gaara sat in long silence, gaping at her sister with round eyes. He could no longer mask his worried confusion. Were women that complicated?

Were women scarier when they were pregnant? Well at least he had been warned that the increase in volatile hormones may affect the woman's clear thinking...

"So what is the great Kazekage's next move?" asked Temari with an obviously amused smirk.

Quickly regaining an imperturbable facade, Gaara answered her quite simply, "a box of chocolate...?"

Well that didn't sound too sure now, did it?

"Want me to come?" asked Temari who was obviously excited in helping her brother out. After all, it wasn't everyday he'd consult to her.

"Perhaps over dinner" mumbled Gaara, speaking more to himself than he was to her.

"Leave it to me," smirked Temari, "I know a brilliant place"

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Today must have been the toughest one for Sakura. A majority of her female students began fainting at the strenuous exertion of chakra and had rows of beds for them in the hospital as they slumbered to regenerate chakra.

Because of that, class time was cut shorter in the expense of heavier duty around the hospital because they lacked manpower. And ironically enough, a majority of her patients were her students.

She wondered if she asked too much from them... All they had to do was keep the piglet alive. It wasn't like they have faced anything similar to that scenario... Or maybe they had and decided to just give up when they could no longer handle it.

It was sad in a sympathetic manner. And it concluded that she needed to strengthen all medic's endurance... Otherwise, they'll just be as good as nothing when the unavoidable arrives.

And yet somehow, she had an inkling feeling that they were rebelling. Probably it was because of Gaara... Come to think of it, a majority of all females from her class were her patients and unwittingly gave her a hard time for demanding things from her all at the same time. The males helped out though, and she thanked them for that.

And all jokingly requested to have a large dinner with her, but apparently the Kazekage called for that night, just as she was packing up.

He came in with awkward silence in absence of his robes and hat in turn for a box of chocolates in hand. Sakura, felt special and guilty at the same time. But it didn't stop her from accepting his dinner invite.

"You could've at least gave me time to wear something more decent," mumbled Sakura as they stepped into Suna's finest restaurant.

Daimyos, honourable ninjas and--oh great, Shikamaru was here with Temari. Quickly averting her gaze, she resumed pretending that she knew no one as the waiter led them to an elegant table by the window, thankfully, away from those two.

"What do you feel for eating?" asked Gaara, handing her the menu

"Buttered cheese clams," words flowed languidly from Sakura's lips, "with celery and crab dipped in chocolate syrup!"

At first her orders were nice, but towards the end, it seemed ridiculously amusing. Gaara just observed her as she lay down two more dishes with sauces that are never meant to be for those certain meat... Like grilled lamb with tempura sauce and cheese.

"And what will our fine Kage have?"

"Clam chowder would do--"

"I want one too!" interrupted Sakura with childish vigour, "and instead of your normal bread bowl, can you make mine out of chocolate bagels?"

A short muffled laughter surfaced with his smirk.

"What?" deadpanned Sakura

Gaara shook his head, his small smirk fading before charily asking, "how was your day?"

And that question alone beckoned hours of babbling even between mouthfuls of food. Gaara was startled when a half-chewed shrimp flew to his soup from her mouth, and he was barely full.

But he was contented by simply having a conversation with his eloquent companion, who began sharing her day, from their conference to the talk outside her class to the bathroom rumor to the heavy duty during her shift.

"Why not take a leave from work?" suggested Gaara

Sakura set down her whipped cream lemonade and waved off his idea as she took in another mouthful. "And risk my mission?"

"You're pregnant," he reminded her

Her enthusiastic munching died down to the occasional lethargic chew. Then she swallowed hard, "you're planning something, aren't you?"

Gaara eyed her, "I'm planning to reason well with you"

Sakura took in a more cautious sip from her drink, within half an hour she managed to devour two dishes. Then she spoke, "go on..?"

Hinting in her uncertainty, Gaara carefully chose his words. His idea revolved around his explanation with the council members, but he admitted that even if they were lies, they still made sense.

He probed deeper as to what happened to the two of them that took place in the examination room... regarding the rumor between Maede and the sharp-tongue medic from the bathroom with such a delicate explanation.

Sakura, who still had the energy left to finish her meal, now lost her appetite. She swallowed the last batch she had in her mouth and had difficulty making eye contact with him. She wiped her mouth with a napkin before excusing herself from the table just as she felt her bladder building pressure.

Gaara watched her, when suddenly she sat back down, wide-eyed and pale-faced. White-knuckles fists gripped the edge of the table with dangerous force as she sat there... Rigid.

"What's wrong?" asked the redhead

Sakura swallowed, "Gaara..." her voice no more than a whisper, "I think I'm bleeding"

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**A/N: omg! Omg! Omg!!!!**

**Well~**

**Whaddya haff take say fer that~**

**I wanna hear from you guys, I appreciate that you loved it, but specifically what part? Now if you hated it, wouldn't it hurt to explain why?**

**If you find this chap disappointing, I'm open to suggestions as long as there's feedback as to why my work's disappointing in the first place~**

**Please break the phrases to two-lines reviews if you can~ and it would really help a lot of you guys did~**

**'til then~ I hope you guys enjoyed~!!**

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	6. Leap of Faith

**Chapter Five:** _Leap of Faith_

"Gaara, I think I'm bleeding"

Brows or no brows, they knotted tightly as he rose from his seat, quickly walked around the table and kneeled before her. Blood. It was evident as it stained her beige seat and grew larger underneath her.

He was worried and wanted to help, but found his first instincts ridiculous. Why?

What was Gaara's natural reaction when he sees someone else's blood?

...

Right now, it seemed wrong to taste blood as of this moment.

"Gaara?!" squeaked Sakura as her breaths came in shallow, horror filling her face. Without another word, his sand began to envelop them both with momentary darkness before their surrounding changed to the hospital avoiding an audience who attempted to approach them.

Their arrival was just as shocking as the slumber party the medic females secretly threw that night. And everything hushed to silence as fangirls awed at their Kazekage.

His sand languidly ebbed away from a stiff Sakura, while he scanned the room with arms crossed. He masked his panic well, but the sight of his hospital disappointed him and threw a scowl on his face.

The medic nins were scattered everywhere in that room, three on a bed, somewhere just two, others were empty while a majority were munching on the sheets. It was disgraceful, and even if they scrambled back to their proper bunks, it was already useless.

"I found it!" screamed a voice with her barefoot echoing down the hall, "I found the-- Kazekage-sama" apparently it was the sharp-tongued Hitsuki who now did a full ninety degree bow as all of her stash fell to the floor.

The lights were dim and all girls froze, unsure what to do next.

"She's bleeding, fix her problem and make sure the child she carries is safe," he commanded

"What if she gets a miscarriage?" asked a bold Hitsuki, never starightening from her bow.

Turning a venomous glare to scald her ego he spoke with a spine-chilling tone with his sand aggressively rising to tendrils of grain-like tentacles, "you wouldn't want that"

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Sakura felt the warm sheets comforting her, the moist that accumulated around her mouth when she exhaled and the searing light that disturbed her slumber. A beep was first dull, followed by several muffled incoherent words.

Another beep and the voices gradually became clearer. Until the third beep sounded, everything hushed to a silence as she slowly opened her eyes and focused on the smudges that surrounded her bed; familiar faces ignited her memory.

"How are you feeling?" asked the redhead

She left him unanswered as she began scanning the other faces; next to Gaara was Temari, then Kankuro, then Naruto. And what she saw by the foot of her bed made her smile.

Just as she jerked herself to sit upright, a hand firmly pressed her down.

"Calm down, Sakura, or you might lose the child this time" warned--

"Tsunade-shishou!" mumbled Sakura with glee through her oxygen mask. She wasn't only glad that her mentor was here, but was relieved to know that the baby was safe.

"Hn" she smiled back, "rest, your baby needs it. Sasuke, let's talk outside"

The Uchiha gave a heartfelt smirk to Sakura who nearly cried in joy. Gaara felt a sharp twinge of jealousy that grew evident when sand spilled from his gourd behind him and began swirling menacingly. And when the Uchiha shot him a glare, Gaara effortlessly won the stare down with Sasuke just ignoring him as he strode out the door with Tsunade behind him.

"Woah, Gaara, calm down," began Kankurou, "you might actually burn a hole through the--ow!"

Quickly his sand retreated, but it took a while to avert his eyes

"We'll just grab lunch for Sakura," suggested Temari as she bit her grin while dragging her brother out of the room. Gaara caught another glimpse of Sasuke before the door shut closed.

"As a medical specialist, you should know better than to remove that," spoke Gaara before looking at the kunoichi in mid process

Sakura glared at him as he strode over to an armchair adjacent to the bed before comfortably sitting there. Hands fell to a clasp on her diaphragm as she watched him carefully.

"How long was I confined?"

"Two days," he answered, "I personally summoned Tsunade just to save you and our child"

Sakura felt awkward. Even if his answer was monotonous, 'our' just seemed to have been emphasized. She fell quiet and dropped her gaze, "sorry"

"Don't," began Gaara, "I... Just rest well"

Another awkward silence.

"Do you plan to keep it?" he asked with a lower voice, keen emerald eyes piercing through her defensive barrier.

"Keep what?" she asked offhandedly.

"Our... Child...?" he said slowly, intense green eyes settling on her startled ones, slightly alleviating the tension to keep her comfortable.

Immediately she looked away, "I don't know," unaware that her eyes began roaming the door Sasuke stood behind.

Taking in the unintentional hint, Gaara looked away from what she was staring at and explained, "We already talked"

"And?"

"He approves," he abruptly continued, not wanting to give too much information that might cause him to lose her.

"Oh..." she turned to stare at the wall opposite the door. Another wave of silence before Gaara rose from his seat and sat on the edge of the hospital bed. He took her hand and gently placed it just right above her womb; his hand firmly holding hers.

Through an unexpected display of concern, Gaara surprised her.

"This," he began, "is our creation. And you shouldn't be ashamed of it or take it for granted"

She watched him eye her belly through their hands while his large thumb gently stroked her wrist.

"We both know how precious life is, Sakura" he continued with his focus now on her, "and this is just as precious as those lives that you save everyday..."

Turning back to her belly, he removed her hand with his and gently unbuttoned her robe to reveal her still-flat abdomen. Sakura held her breath as she watched him trace patterns against her sensitive skin while he spoke, "there's nothing more to worry about little one,"

Gaara absentmindedly carried on caressing her belly before he leaned in closer, "you're safe now" with that, he planted a gentle kiss on her belly that left an innocent blush on Sakura's face.

As an awkward hush settled in, it was only then that Gaara realized what he said and done. He hadn't moved an inch after affectionately giving her tummy a chaste kiss, and decided to withdraw into his personal space.

He rose from the bed just as Tsunade stepped in, "Sasuke wants to have a word with you"

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"I'm taking her home with me when she's stable," began Sasuke when Gaara shut the door behind him.

A darker gaze settled on the Uchiha before he spoke, "Travelling will be a strenuous work,"

"Transportation jutsu," suggested Sasuke

"It's not advisable for pregnant women," explained Gaara

Another wave of silence as two pairs of calculative eye bore down into each other. Because of Gaara's height, broader built and greater air of power, he effortlessly won the stare down yet again.

"After delivering the baby in Suna, she is to never see you again,"

"She has a child to look after, Uchiha"

"Then have a wet nurse for all I care," snapped Sasuke

Gaara narrowed his eyes, "You're being irrationally selfish"

"And you're using the child as an excuse to snatch her from me," retorted the Uchiha

Touché. A well reasoned out debate that led to a stalemate. Both saw through the other, and it just concluded one thing: both wanted Sakura.

However, there was still a fault to Sasuke's accusation, breaking the ice Gaara added, "I will admit that I'm planning to have Haruno for myself, but I will tell you that I'm not selfish enough to use our child as a mere tool to get her."

"Say whatever you want, Gaara, but it still leads to one conclusion, and we both know that I'm not gonna let that happen,"

"What do you plan?"

"I plan to keep her,"

"And then what? Revive your dying clan?"

"Sakura isn't a baby-popping machine, Gaara," explained Sasuke, "She still wants to serve our village doing what she does best"

"Saving lives and killing the bad guys," hummed Gaara with amusement, "well, I guess she can first save our child, and then kill 'the bad guy'"

There was dark humour in Gaara's voice, insulting the lone heir of the Uchiha.

"Uchiha, don't you see? She has been jeopardizing our child's life because you have been so selfish"

"Then why did you go for her out of all your women here?"

"Because I admire her perfect chakra control," said Gaara quietly, a half-truth that was very sensible.

When Sasuke could no longer say anything but glare helplessly at him, the redhead added, "I will send a batch of my genins to retrieve some of her belongings... I'm telling you this so you won't be surprised one day"

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When Gaara finally shut the door behind him, Tsunade spoke, "You know the ruckus you caused everywhere wasn't an easy fix," and then she turned to face her student.

"Gaara summoned me right in the middle of a meeting to debate on whether or not Konoha shall wage war with Amegakure, and now that I'm gone I have no idea on what those old farts are doing."

Sakura lowered her head, mumbling her apologies

"And when I got here, medic nins were everywhere and... There you were on the bed, bleeding and unconscious with a raging Gaara roaring at his own crowd of old farts"

"You almost lost your child if I hadn't fixed you up and told of my approval." the blonde hardened her gaze at the kunoichi, "had it not been for the chakra envelop you used or your womb, the baby would have already fallen. You've lost lots of blood to maintain that chakra envelop, so I stimulated your bone marrow to make up for the loss. And that's why you've been out cold for two days."

"I've been missing from my seat since then and haven't slept a wink just to make sure that your child doesn't have any defects... Sakura I know you had a scenario like this with a patient, I thought you knew what you what you should be doing"

Sakura felt all the shame weigh down on her.

"Forget Sasuke, and focus on more important things. It's an honor to have you being the mother of the Kazekage's heir, but that is only as far as you allow your role to be. Don't you think that it would be even better for the child if you two just stayed together?"

"I knew your parents well, Sakura. Though they hated each other, they never showed it to you. They seemed sweet and happy only when you're at home and wage war when you left on a mission. That's how much they love you... Sakura"

The kunoichi was surprised at the revelation, never expecting her parents to have been doing what her mentor had just said.

"I'll be heading back to Konoha later to take care of things there, you'll be having a conference with Gaara and their council tonight. Gaara and I could no longer fend them off, believing that if you want to drop the child... Now would be a good time"

"Sakura, I want you to think carefully about this. It's nothing personal, just another mission.

X

X

X

Sakura waited for Sasuke to turn up when Tsunade left her. She wanted to talk to him about this and needed to explain herself to not hurt him.

But he didn't. She couldn't bring herself to hate him, and felt that he had every right to hate her. But she needed to reassure him, that after all this was done, she'll be coming home to him...

Then what about her child? Her palm drifted down to her belly. She can't really abandon him right after she brought him into this world...

As a mother, she knew her baby would be needing her but she can't bring him home for he rightfully belonged to Suna as Gaara's heir.

And where was Sasuke? She really needed to discuss this with him. She waited and waited, and then finally the door opened...

And Gaara stepped in with a nurse with a tray of food in her hands behind him.

"I brought lunch," said Gaara, unfathomable eyes comforting her solitude, "I sent my siblings to my office to cover my work"

"Why?" asked Sakura. She watched him patiently wait for the nurse to step out before he answered her, "So I can be with you"

Sakura was flattered. Sasuke never sacrificed that much just to 'be with her.' As a matter of fact, she finally felt important, not just because she had to work so hard to get it, but because someone was finally showing her worth.

A small heartfelt smile graced her lips.

Quickly Gaara added, "You're my responsibility, so I should be taking care of you well and mentally prepare you to endure my village's standards"

Gaara could say whatever he wanted to say right now, as long as she felt important like this. But then, she couldn't help but wonder

"Why are you doing all this?"

"I believe I had already explained myself"

Because she had been around difficult, unfathomable men for more than enough years, Gaara was no different from Sasuke when it came up to conjuring lies to mask his vulnerability.

When she moved to feed herself a spoonful of porridge, a sandy grip interrupted her before it began to gently manoeuvre the spoon to feed her.

"Gaara, it isn't your responsibility to feed me"

"But it is to make sure that you're fully nourished"

"I'm not skin and bones!" Sakura retorted playfully

"Good." said Gaara a thin line framed his lips for a smile, "let's keep it that way... Now say 'ah'"

Sakura guffawed, nearly knocking her meal over. Hadn't it been for Gaara's sand, she would have been a mess, but neither one seemed to mind.

"The Kazekage just said what?"

"Sakura unless you want me to force this spoon down your throat, I suggest you talk less and swallow more"

She wasn't intimidated by his threat; instead she just giggled and complied to his wish. She was sure about one thing though, all serious men were fun to mess up and distort them into ways they thought they'll never do.

I can live with this, thought Sakura, loving the idea of being served by the most powerful man as of this era. But somehow, she couldn't help but feel guilty over it.

She still loved Sasuke and feared that she might fall or Gaara. Though their personalities were similar in many ways, there was still a major dfference between the two. Gaara acted out his concern for his loved ones without holding back. And right now, it would just seemed wrong if Sasuke would be doing the exact same thing to her.

Why? Because it wouldn't be Gaara doing these things to her. And by then, nothing would be right.

"Please," interrupted Sakura, pulling away from the rim of the glass when his sand pressed it against her lips, "let me do it."

Gaara shrugged, "suit yourself"

Using his sand, he lifted the armchair and moved it closer to Sakura before sitting on it. And when he did, he just folded his arms and stared at her.

Feeling the awkwardness settle in, Sakura spoke to avoid being suffocated by its silence. "Now what?" feigning innocence to look him in the eye

"I suppose a daughter would be fine," he mused

She didn't have to ask what he was talking about, "hey, it could be son"

"But a majority give birth to daughters," reasoned Gaara

"Give me a few more weeks and then check it out with Konoha's facilities, it could be a son" argued Sakura with a light tone

Gaara flatly responded, "could still be a daughter"

Sakura shook her head with a smile, "either way, he--"

"Or she"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "or she will still be a very beautful child, a very strong ninja and more importantly the heir to your mantle"

Sakura felt the tension alleviate from Gaara's presence as he slowly began choosing his words, "so... You're fine with mothering my child?"

She gave a curious smile, "just try not to be selfish with him--"

"Or her"

Sakura giggled, "or her"

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A/N: and there you have it! A successful GaaSaku moment!

The rest will be a whole lotta notes from meh!

...

Nah, I was just screwing with you guys~!!

u

Here's the rest~!!

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The meeting ended and it was a success. Basically they just asked for Sakura's approval and she gave it. It could've been quick if she hadn't taken a long oath and signed papers for the sake of a contract they tied her to.

It was ten thirty when silence settled. Like before, Gaara resumed sitting on his arm chair with folded arms and his focus on the kunoichi.

It took him a while to notice, until finally he realized, he had been assisting Sakura far too much than he usually would for others. Was it because her bleed worried him and feared that it would happen again?

He sighed. He was fine with it, he thought, as long as it was Sakura and nobody else. He was looking forward to reaping the fruits of his labor. He would have a daughter... Or a son with Sakura being the mother...

But still, it wasn't exactly a family since they were not legally married.

That was too much of a thought for Gaara. He believed that Sakura was already accepting the idea of delivering her baby and to suggest that thought now might sever the bond he already strengthened the kunoichi. Maybe when the time was right, he will consider the thought again. Nothing personal, just being fully practical, he reminded himself.

"What are you thinking of right now?" asked Sakura, focusing on the ceiling. The only light they had was from the moon that rode high into the sky.

Gaara cringed slightly, studying her tranquil form. Her gentle fingers intertwined atop her belly. After weighing the odds, he took a safer route, "it depends" he said, causing Sakura to look at him.

Since he was right next to her head and the armchair wasn't exactly high, her lips were no more than two hands' breadth away, so he looked away before he even thought of kissing her, "would you want the harsh truth or forced lie?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, dark lashes made her eyes seem naturally smokier, "and has the Kazekage decided to stop lying to me? I'm flattered"

He darted his eyes to her and spoke in a low voice, "don't be," then he looked away, "knowledge brings burden while ignorance is bliss"

Sakura smirked, "Careful Gaara," she yawned, "keep that up and I might actually fall for you" she joked

But he wasn't fooled; instead he probed on, "why is that?"

"I like dark, mysterious men," she spoke honestly, but had to avoid his gaze to save her embarrassment for admitting everything all too openly.

"Because I know I can change them," here, she dared to look at his reaction, "would you want to be changed?"

Gaara swallowed, growing aware of the proximity of their faces before he answered, "and end up like your possessive Uchiha?"

"I do have an addicting personality" smirked the kunoichi

It was Gaara's turn to smirk, as he implied a warning "conceit, young kunoichi, is what trouble gravitates to"

"As far as I know, I'm in already too much of a trouble" she smiled small before throwing in more space to the small distance between them, unaware of Gaara's hidden message. For such a dense person, Gaara was hinting that he, too, was gravitating towards her.

"You better be careful with the fire you play with next time if you don't want to harm more people than you already have," remarked Gaara, slightly admitting that he wished she hadn't pulled away before he managed to steal a kiss.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura, still too naive.

Gaara just stared at her with intense eyes before he rose and headed for the door. He didn't have time for this; he already said too much and was just thankful she didn't understand a word he said.

"Where are you going?" she hollered

Gaara halted and looked over his shoulder, "home. I think it's better for the both of us that way"

With that, he immediately departed before she could ask him to stay. And he would hate himself if he ignored her request like that, but he would hate it all the more if he obeyed her and stayed all night.

He knew himself too well, and feared that his urges might get the better of him. He was concerned with Sakura's health and condition... And this time, he'll see to it that he won't be reckless again...

If fate allowed him to meet her again in more promising circumstances, that is.

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A/N: hehe, now there's really nothing after this. For those who read and reviewed chapter two before hitting chapter three who now read the former... Did it answer your questions?

Please let me know... Coz right now, an overhaul might still be possible. Anyways, how about this installment? Any particular likes or dislikes that you want me to be specifically aware of?

Or constructive criticism that I oh so love to read? Honestly, I don't mind a little advice, it doesn't hinder my progress, instead it invigorates me to right my wrongs(I guess no pun intended)~

So please consider about leaving more helpful reviews~

Ciao~

^u^

And I'd like to apologize for the long delay... further explanations shall be revealed in the next instalment... which will be held for ransom unless I get a total of fifteen reviews from ya'll!!

Which means, unless you want to see the next chappity-chap, I must know how much you peoples love this story!!! I must know you're there and reading you know, this doesn't give off any hits so... yeah~

And to those who reviewed thank you lots~~

^0^


	7. Start of a Dare

**Word Bank**

_Choleric_: adj. Characterized by anger; quickly moved to anger

_Precocious_: adj. Characteristic of exceptional early development of maturity especially in mental aptitude.

_Maven_: n. Someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field

**Chapter Six**: Start of a Dare

"Himiga"

"Satoshi,"

The two redheads narrowed their eyes as they silenced the whole elevator.

"Yumiko," suggested Gaara

"Or Yurugi," added Sakura

Another hardened pause weighed down the intensity of the elevator. The door slid open as more passengers stepped in, greeting the Kazekage while he held a debate with his heir-carrying female

"Chiyo would be a nice tribute," remarked Gaara

"And so does Sasori,"

He glared at her through the reflection of the door, "now you're being sarcastic"

"Oh, I thought we _were_ being serious, Kazekage-sama," Sakura folded her arms across her chest and humph-ed

Whispers arose in the metal box, but neither of the two seemed to care.

"Could be a daughter," the Kazekage shrugged, equally folding his arms across his chest

A sonorous note forewarned the elevator's drawing halt.

"Could still be a son," Sakura raised and lowered both shoulders before she slipped through the small space during the opening of the elevator, allowing Gaara to delay by just a tad bit.

As the pinkette slid across the white-tiled floor, Gaara picked up his pace by lengthening his strides. He never expected his petite companion to move so quickly, that by the time she logged herself out from the lobby she was already hurrying out to the exit.

Gaara clicked his tongue as he made a sharp left and briskly walked, dismissing those who spared him an honourable greeting.

"Sakura!" he called out as he swung open the glass-paned doors, _wait up_, were the next unspoken words.

Thankfully, the kunoichi halted, faced him and planted her hands on her hips while impatiently tapping her foot on the ground.

He had to refrain from smirking as he let proud strides approach her. Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes, "am I supposed to awe at your dazzling grace? Hurry up I'm hungry!"

With that, she abandoned him at the steps of his hospital's entrance.

Gaara blinked before sighing in defeat. Chasing this girl was nigh impossible, winning Sakura did promise a bleak future for him though.

With a click of his tongue, he decided to head for the Kazekage tower. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and let his first lax step take the lead. Besides, he had paperwork that was far more important than baby-sitting this girl.

She was responsible enough...

Which was why she ended up in the hospital...

Hmm... That didn't seem to help him worry less.

Gaara's conscience began to strengthen when he was currently walking by the mouth of the food district. Quickly, he reminded himself that she just ditched him and his pride took over him, telling him to let her feel bad about it...

"Gaara!" hollered a pinkette

With a jaded sigh, he slowed down to a halt and slightly tilted his head up. She jogged towards him before he felt a sharp prod on his chest that never ceased until he noticed her.

When he looked down, she cheekily grinned back at him, a stick of dango in each hand.

"You poked me with a stick," with the way Gaara said it, it became more of a statement than it did a question.

Easily ignoring him, Sakura lifted one hand with a brighter smile, "Dango?"

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Rowdy ramblings, dim lights and stale stench.

Sasuke had to refrain from gagging when such seedy ambiance greeted him upon his first step. He could hve easily walked away if it weren't for a loud-mouthed blonde who dragged him in Amegakure's bar.

And he would all the more be cooperative if his comrade was Naruto... But apparently...

"Ino, is this really necessary?" muttered Sasuke, half-heartedly leaning back in protest

The blonde looked over her shoulder, "Seriously, you know what we're looking for, right?"

"Sure, but--"

"Sit!" commanded the kunoichi, but how could the Uchiha protest when she already hauled him down an empty bar stool.

Sasuke grimaced slightly as his back turned rigid; did he just sit on something wet and squishy? Ino giggled nervously as her eyes darted around to find a few men watching her.

She cleared her throat before turning to--

"Wha' can I get fer ya?" rumbled a deep voice

Ino slightly jumped back with a small shriek. The big swarthy, burly man who chewed on the cigar butt had an empty eye socket. She blinked repetitively before setting down her order.

As soon as she was served and the bartender was off to creep someone else out, she slumped back down on her seat and fumbled with the beer mug. Sasuke rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest when she offered him the second mug she ordered.

Having spent many years with Orochimaru, Sasuke learned what alcohol did to him around women. He made it a lesson when he woke up naked in bed right next to Karin.

He shuddered; he knew it was unintentional...

But it bothered him to have lost it to that psychotic girl.

Setting down the glass mug on the sticky counter with a sharp clack tore Sasuke out of his trance. Ino grabbed his beer mug before emptying it with a quick, breathless swig.

She sighed and heavily set her mug down.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. It was their first day of the mission and instead of searching for a decent inn; she deliberately dashed head on to the seediest bar. If it were on a mission with Sakura, they would have gone with his plan, and then they could get their job done in the most proficient way.

"Another round please!" squawked his blonde comrade. Sasuke wanted to palm his face so badly, but doing that would make it all the more obvious that they were acquaintances...

_If only Sakura were here_, he'd inwardly sigh, because right now, this rash, hedonistic, blatant blonde is promising a baleful head start of their mission; unless he was with an organized, focused and responsible pinkette... Things will be far more effective.

"What do you see in Sakura, huh?" slurred Ino

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Everything that's not you"

Ino chuckled and wiggled to the edge of her stool when she realized that the stools were embedded to the floor.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke," she crooned, swirling the recently ordered martini glass with one hand. She crossed her legs and her skirt hiked up, revealing soft--

Wait a minute. Firmly raising his guard, Sasuke arched a brow. He didn't like the tone in her voice.

Ino giggled darkly as she shook her head. She leaned in closer to Sasuke but only got as near to see how he was clearly disapproving with her actions.

"I don't know what you see in her, but I don't think she's taking you seriously anymore"

Sasuke furrowed his brows, snatched the glass from her hand and downed it with one gulp. Swiftly, he dangerously trapped her against the table and set an ominous gaze. If he weren't mistaken, she eyes his lips and tilted her head to the side

"You're drunk," he remarked

Within a blink of an eye, Sasuke melded with the bustling crowd in search for his peace of mind. Leaving Ino half leaning forty from her stool.

He knew that drunken words were sober thoughts... But come on!

She can't seriously know anything about them right now. She doesn't know how they have been going... Or the rocky patch that might cause them to drift apart.

He stumbled through the door, but quickly regained his stance. He dusted himself off and stood next to the door to lean. The smothering air in the bar, if it had any air to start with, must be clouding his head.

He drew in a deep breath and heaved a sigh. Sure, the town stank in the first place, but the strong repugnant stench in the bar must have nullified his ability to smell.

Having cleared his thoughts, he shook his head. Ino had no right to tell him what Sakura thought. The two kunoichis haven't really spoken much together anyway.

Besides, that girl and her infamous rumors brought him nothing but trouble.

Why couldn't she be like Sakura? Someone who actually minded her own business...?

Come to think of it, how was she anyway?

...

He... Missed her. A lot.

Compared to Ino, Sakura was the greatest catch. There wouldn't be one guy back in Konoha who wouldn't mention something pleasant about her.

Naruto would unconsciously blab about Sakura if he got bored. Choji would admire her sympathy for his need to eat 'real' food when in the hospital. Neji would quietly admit that she'd gotten stronger.

Shikamaru would complain as to why Ino can't be more like her rival. Kiba would always talk about how pretty she smelled, or how Shino will suddenly fall quiet...er when she'd pass by--although it didn't count as saying something. And Lee...

He wouldn't even want to remember the green-clad male and his dramatic ramblings.

Either way... She made life seem lighter than it normally should be. She said life the way it should sound like, so hopeful and full of ways... Unlike Ino who had nothing better to do but spread gossip all day.

Sasuke couldn't stand it. From the moment they set out from the village, Ino would already open her big fat mouth and start talking about some guy in the village he wouldn't even bother to care about.

He preferred talking to someone who was worth his time, someone who spoke sensibly, who had fresh new concepts on life and things that can keep his mind from rotting away.

He preferred to talk to someone like Sakura.

Sakura always had something sensibly interesting to say, and if she were to comment, she'd comment nicely in a way that wouldn't hurt another's feelings.

She was always so kind but strict, understanding but aware and choleric but patient. Though she was on both ends of extremities, she always found a middle ground to maintain equilibrium, an equilibrium that led to her precocious maturity.

Those were quick characteristics that he admired and respected the most. Characteristics that challenged Yamanaka Ino's so greatly. Unlike Sakura, Ino was very much immature, single-minded and biased. She'd judge people before getting to know them, stuck to her wrong beliefs and because of that, he considered her immature.

Sure Sakura can be immature at times, but that was only because she was naive and pure. Sasuke was sure that Ino was anything but--

"Tonight at the restaurant," said a voice quite near.

Sasuke played it cool as he eavesdropped, maintaining his blank gaze that lingered on the dull cement floor.

"My men will meet you there,"

"Indeed, Amegakure will not be one to disappoint--I promise you that, sir" responded another

And after that, the two strangers seemed to have departed. Sasuke, on the other hand dove right back in the bar, swam his way to Ino and tugged her out of the throng.

She was still giggling even as he harshly tugged her when she wouldn't focus, "Ino," he hissed, stepping into the nearest inn they could find

"Unlike you," intoned Sasuke, "I've finally got something,"

Ino's tipsy giggles died down to maliciously victorious ones, "What makes you think you're the only productive one?"

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The sun was beating down on them and the wind howled. Yet, within the walls of Suna, birds mirthlessly chirped. Gaara contentedly watched Sakura gorge down on heaps of meals that were far beyond what normal taste buds can take.

Tempura smeared with maple syrup, sushi wrapped in chocolate rolls, dango dipped in steak sauce with a tamago mixed with banana for a drink; shaken, not stirred.

Simply watching her was like bidding his appetite good bye. And it should have stayed like that if it weren't for her offer that seemed too dangerous to turn down.

Sitting on a stool in one of Suna's best food stalls, Gaara's hand was already aching from holding the tempura. And he was far from the need to taste it.

Staring at the maple syrup dripping down from the golden coated crunchiness made his stomach churn. Somehow, he knew he was going to see it again.

"Ya know, it would've been nicer to hang out in the open if it weren't this hot," rambled Sakura, "I mean, I never started feeling this hot and all, but right now I just want to feel cool"

Gaara blinked

"Consider that a suggestion," added Sakura as slurped from her drink, "not an insult, 'kay?"

He nodded and fell silently pensive, then he answered, "Did you consider the act that we are in the midst of sand--"

"Hey Gaara..." began Sakura after stuffing more sushi in her mouth, "I've been thinking about what you told me..."

Gaara set his chopsticks down when Sakura subconsciously snatched the tempura right from them with hers before it filled a vacant space in her full mouth.

He gaped at the tail as it moved in sync with her chews, "about Suna's location?"

"Not really, but I want to make sure of something," she swallowed

Gaara patiently waited, not really having much of his opinion heard out of this conversation.

"Are you really ready to become a dad?"

He predictably gazed at her before confidently answering her, "I'm the Kazekage, what do you expect?"

"For you to become a dad" deadpanned Sakura, "Fulfilling your duties in the office is very different at home. You shouldn't assign missions to look after your kid, he is your heir making him a candidate to be kidnapped y'know?"

Gaara blinked, "Then I'll make sure to avoid--"

"And the diapers," groaned Sakura, "Do you know how to change diapers?"

Gaara ogled the kunoichi before carefully answering her, "I think so"

An answer that was now an overhaul with--

"What's wrong with it?"

"Try putting your sand away--and hurry while the parents are still gone,"

Hanging by its foot, the baby wailed as it dangled dangerously from his sand's firm hold. Gaara stood imperturbably with arms crossed before its crib.

Sakura who leaned nervously against the door, clicked her tongue, "No, no, no! Put the baby down--gently!! Oh for crying out loud Gaara, babies are fragile"

He did nothing more but scald Sakura with his searing glare, effectively silencing her. With his sand, he angled the new born babe so that it locked eyes with him.

The baby hushed for a moment before its face twisted, threatening to continue its squeal and when it did,

"Silence," commanded Gaara, the baby only amplified its shrieks

With a click of her tongue, she hurried over to him and plucked the baby out of the sand, effectively hushing the babe before she hastily strapped on new diapers.

The baby was cooing thereafter, grabbing its tiny hallux--the big toe-- as he sucked his thumb.

Gaara ominously towered over the tranquil baby before it just stared at the redhead. Sakura just watched him, shaking her head, "You're not ready, yet"

"Let's try it again," dared Gaara, "a girl, this time"

Sakura raised and lowered her shoulders, "whatever you say,"

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Sure having Sakura along in this mission might not entirely require her skills of massive power and healing, but being trained to be the best right from the Slug Princess herself is more than enough to throw in an edge.

But right now, Ino was perfect for the job.

Being a member in the interrogation unit give Ino that certain edge that didn't obscure her abilities. Though Sakura may exceed in both mental and physical factors, Ino succeeded in invading one's mind and knowing their most cladestine knowledge.

Now in their inn with chakra enhanced barriers to nullify the sounds, sat a blind-folded captive. It just so happen that their victim of the night was the buirdly bartender who served her earlier, who was now slumped on the wooden seat, with senbons sticking out from where skin concealed vital points.

"You sure you don't need duct tape to--"

"Sasuke," interrupted Ino, malicious excitement glinting in her eyes, "I got it,"

Sasuke followed Ino into her bedroom where their victim stayed, where baleful silence settled in.

With a snap of her fingers, the blind-folded victim snapped his head to her directions.

"Very good," mused Ino

"Where am I?" wheezed the victim

"Shhh... I do the questions around here, big boy"

"Am I in Icha Icha Hut?" hope radiated off him, obviously denying his impending danger, "Aw shucks, Yukishi, my fortieth birthday isn't for another week y'know?"

Ino wickedly smiled, obliviously catching the Uchiha's attention, he watched the blonde pad her way to her victim before planting a careful hand on the base of his skull.

"Let's see if you can make it to forty then" purred Ino

"What do you--AAGGHH!!"

Ino pulled back after shallowly implanting a needle right next to his spinal cord. "I'm just killing you softly"

"W-what?!" sputtered the man, "Why?!"

"What's your name?" asked Ino, when she got no reply but the growing ragged breaths, she lightly brushed her finger on the needle--

"Dosora!! It's Dosora!" choked the victim, almost near to tears, he let out more shaky breaths when he felt Ino step back.

"You broke him..." monotoned Sasuke

"Those feeble minded bend easily anyway," shrugged Ino, resuming her attention

"Please," whispered the victim, "I've got a boy to raise--he needs me!"

Ino smiled widely, waiting for him to continue

"I'm just trying to earn some money so I can bring him to the hospital--please, you don't understand... He's just six," sobbed the man

Ino's eyes narrowed before striding up to him, she checked his body reaction and pinched the tip of the needle before drawing back, "I see you've been telling the truth"

"Of course I have!" gasped Dosora, "So please, just let me go"

Ino sighed, "I'm sorry Dosora, but I'm afraid you have something that I want..."

"What...?" whispered the man

"Information,"

There was an intense pause before Dosora repeated, "Information? What information? What are you talking about?"

After pinching the needle's tip again, Ino clicked her tongue repetitively as she shook her head, "Lying will be the only key to make your helpless son become an orphan,"

There was an ambivalent pause that never escaped Ino's scrutiny until the man spoke, "The info goes with me to the grave"

Ino smirked, "So you do know something"

"That's not what I meant!" denied the man, at loss for words

"And because of the way you'd protect this information with your life, I'd say you have a big secret, Dosora"

"N-no I don't!"

"Denial, denial, denial..." sighed Ino, "probably when I finish you, your son can meet you later--"

"Leave him alone!" roared the man

Bingo, thought Ino, it won't be too long until he'd spill, "Alone to rot in this world sounds awfully scary... So why not make it a quick painless--"

"Please!" he begged, "He's just six!"

"Well then," said Ino, striding over to him, "Tell me what you know"

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Sakura flipped a page from the magazine she was reading as she comfortably sunk in his sofa. Her foot hung on the armrest as she propped her head with a throw pillow.

"Sayuri sounds nice," commented Gaara as he moved on to the next document,

"I'm thinking Takeshi"

"Might be a girl"

"It could still be a boy," reminded Sakura as she flipped to the next page

Gaara fell quiet before he commented, "having a son would be a headache"

"Was it because of the diaper change?" mused Sakura

"No"

"Sakura, there's a majority who gives birth to daughters"

"Boy or girl," Sakura shook her head, "what difference would it make if you always make them cry?"

He gave her an unfathomable gaze before resuming his work, "How often do you see a maven and well-known male shinobi with pink hair"

Sakura could have asked what 'maven' meant if the last description hadn't flared her interest. "Do you have an issue with pink hair?"

"No offense," Gaara added quietly

Sakura scoffed and sat upright, "Point taken, but have you seen a beautiful and strong kunoichi that resembles a brow-less panda?"

Gaara sighed and put his work down, "Women find it exotically sexy"

"Well, men find my hair curiously kinky!" revealed Sakura

"Exactly," said a calm Gaara, "Do you want men to find our son's hair curiously kinky?"

Sakura threw her magazine down, "Do you want women to find our daughter exotically sexy?"

Gaara sighed and resumed his work.

"Hey! Look at me when I'm talk--"

"Chances of getting pink hair is still plausible,"

"And so does the look of a browless panda!"

He leaned back and crossed his arms, "Unless I seal off the tanuki in our kid's body, then I don't see how she'll end up looking like a panda,"

"And the brows?"

"Had you anytime for scrutiny, you'll notice them"

Threatened by his dare, Sakura huffed and folded her arms.

"I bet you're hungry," mused Gaara as he fought back the growing smile

"No I'm not"

"We have bacon dipped in chocolate syrup,"

"Not interested"

"And bananas,"

Sakura fell affably silent, "I'll just go to the bathroom"

"Sure you will"

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing"

"Thought so"

The moment the door shut, Gaara stretched before resting his chin on intertwined fingers to hold back that growing smile. Another day with Sakura promised him entertainment.

He adored the debates and argument they held and enjoyed engaging in them. Honestly, he spoke up because he was bored, and from what he blurted, he wove a conversation.

Finally back on track, he was fuelled to carry on with his task.

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"Where've you been?"

"Disposing evidence," sighed Ino as she headed to her room. Sasuke blocked her path and looked sternly into her eyes.

The kunoichi laughed lightly, "Don't worry, I just wiped his memory clean and returned him to the bar"

She moved past him as she withdrew a paperbag from under her bed, "Thought I finished him?"

Sasuke remained silent

"Don't worry, nobody gets hurt beyond my walls," assured Ino tossing Sasuke a brown parcel.

"Now shoo, we've got to get ready for tonight"

He didn't budge, "do they teach you these things in the interrogation unit?"

Ino shook her head, "Breaking people down isn't easy, my tactics is to aim the things that keeps them going"

"Aim at their weak points?"

Ino shook her head again, "I threaten to take away their reason to live..."

Sasuke nodded his head

"Because without it, they know that they'll be as good as dead."

He turned to leave her room, "See you in ten minutes,"

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"Gaara," whined Sakura, clinging on to the doorknob as she swung in, "We're outta bananas"

Gaara just hummed his response, never pausing from his tedious task

"But I'm still hungry..." muttered Sakura

Gaara smirked, "I've got a banana with me"

Sakura froze, slightly channelling into his innuendo. She blanked out and was caught off guard. She was still by the door anyway, so she can just bolt out of embarrassment.

It wasn't really much of a big deal for Gaara if she left him then and there; he'd just like to see how she'd react. And boy was he enjoying every bit of it.

Sakura began laughing in chagrin then she cleared her throat, "I mean actual _edible_ ones... You know"

Gaara had to furrow his brows and feign hurt to avoid smirking, "Are you saying I'm not edible?"

Her face now contorted with a forced smile and a pair of worried brows before answering careful, "of course... Not...?"

He indifferently gaped before silent beckoning her. With her naïveté taking over, she obeyed like a curious puppy.

She stood rigid before his desk and swallowed audibly.

He scrutinized her, wishing to further aggravate her innocent mask, "wanna bet?"

Sakura's smile dropped and a thin line of mortification morphed her lips. Gaara languidly leaned forward, trying to conceal his tightening pants.

He wouldn't want to spoil his fun just because his body was approving of his corrupted ideas.

"I guess you've been hanging with Naruto too much," stated Sakura with an ambivalent tone

Gaara's blatant silence screamed the obvious as the corners of his lips twitched upwards. He had an idea where this conversation might lead to, but had to refrain from grabbing her.

And yet silence continued to reign and the mist of disomfort paraded each other's dignity.

Sakura was at loss for words and didn't know if she should play along or hold back. Gaara wanted to know what she would say next so he'd know whether to withdraw this ridiculous game or head straight on to who knows where.

Honestly, he just wanted to know how polished Sakura's alert mind was when it came to these sensitive matters. But he only intended to say this if she backed out.

When she didn't budge Gaara decided to loosen the string he clung on to and let it all slide, even if his body strongly potested. But just before he called it over, he just had to say

"Don't let my imagination loose, Sakura," with that, he waved her off

But her innocent curiosity just had to jump in, "What will happen if I did?"

Gaara slowly looked up from his papers and a small dangerous smile shattered his fort "Do you want to know?"

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**A/N**: OMG!! I was already eight chapters ahead and all I had to do was post them up...

Here's the story; One day I decided to upgrade my iPhone, and so I did... But it just so happened that I forgot to back em all up...

That meant a total overhaul on my Cringles--name of my phone--which meant a clean wipe on all applications--actually there wasn't even a single application left to spare when my phone even restored...

Which leads to the deletion of all the other chaps... And the delay for the recent installment...

Well anyway, I've salvaged with what's left of the other chaps by jotting them down before I forgot them... Though the essence of the first copy was gone, I'm making up for it by throwing in fresher ideas~

And just recently, the stories I've began writing all over again can not be sent to my email! URG!!

I'm trying to back up—correction: manually back up my documents, that would mean writing all the stuff I've saved in my iPhone...

I'm beginning to regret having this phone... *sighs* but nonetheless, I shan't give up—lolz, the drama...

Anyways... Sorry for the inconvenience~

I'll try my hardest to restore and improve the docs... Oh—and to those who reviewed, ^u^, give yourselves a round of applause!

^^;;


	8. Unknown Territories

**WARNING**  
—Be warned of (Multiple) Lemons—

**Word Bank**

_Detrition_: n. Effort expended in moving an object over another; Erosion by friction

_Salient_: adj. Having a quality that thrusts itself into attention

_Hedonism_: n. Devotion to pleasure as a way of life

_Raillery_: n. Good-humored ridicule; banter

_Verbigeration_: n. Purposeless repetition of certain words or phrases

_Peremptory_: adj. Not allowing contradiction or refusal; putting an end to all debate

_Deosculate_: v. To kiss warmly

_Recurrent_: adj. Recurring again and again

_Idyllic_: adj. Excellent and delightful in all aspects

_Ruttish:_ adj. Feeling great sexual desire

**Chapter Seven**

"You wanna know?"

Sakura swallowed and stuttered, "Do you want me to know?"

Gaara narrowed his eye, "My wants are based on hedonism, before I allow myself to succumb to it, I am waiting for your consent"

Sakura wanted to ask what hedonism meant but... "So... You want me to know...?"

Gaara slowly closed his eye and rested his forehead on intertwined fingers propped by his elbow. Talking to this girl was ridiculous when it came to these sensitive subjects.

She didn't have any clue where this conversation was dragging him into and he had to despise her naïveté. It was clearly ironic for her to be a kunoichi where her body is also considered as a tool to succeed missions.

She should pick up on innuendos and not fall blank when encountered upon. He wanted a frisky raillery to amuse himself, not an awkward verbigeration that aggravated his lust.

"Leave," he grunted

Sakura blinked in surprise, "Do you still want me to--"

"Please," he growled, "Just leave"

Sakura squeaked at his peremptory glare and bolted towards the exit. Gaara groaned and spun on his seat so that he faced the windows.

He planted his elbows on his seat's armrest and raked through his red locks before his fingertips began sinking into his scalp.

What in the name of all things holy was wrong with him?

What do you mean you wanna know? Growled his conscience before realizing that it was the most ridiculous question he ever asked her.

He already knew she was clueless at what she's getting into, why did he have to ask her that...

He groaned... His member was straining painfully against his leather pants. Mental control can no longer tame him.

But he had to fend it off... He was Kazekage and he knew better than to get caught jacking off in his office. So, with a troubled scowl on his face he spun back to his desk and groaned when warm blood stung his aching member.

He clenched his jaws, picked his pen up and reached for the next document in line. But every small movement would add tension to his string of self-control until it broke.

He spun his seat around, fiddled in search for his zipper and tugged it down. He groaned when his member sprang out of its chains, cool air met moist skin before a warm hand enveloped it.

He shut his eyes, dug into his armchair and hissed. It had been a while since his last encounter with this demanding piece of flesh.

He nearly lost it when he pulled it before he violently went down. A sheen layer of sweat began surfacing on his skin as he tightened his grip on his manhood before achingly drew himself up.

He was a masochistic man, and he loved every bit of his torture; it would heighten his raw needs and amplify his sweet pleasure.

Just as he tugged himself again, he grunted, "Sakura,"

"Yes?" squeaked the kunoichi

He groaned, his imagination had gone wilder, it was if she was... Just... Then he snapped, "What are you doing here?"

He could feel her stare at his back; his cock twitched in anticipation.

Sakura wanted to know where the nearest market was to buy more bananas... He could have asked that, but instead, "What are you doing?"

Sakura should have known better than to reignite a lost topic... Because now he doesn't plan to lose her.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes...?"

Gaara smiled, "Perfect"

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Sasuke and Ino found themselves hiding in a broom closet with their cheeks pressed on the door. If darkness hadn't obscured their sense of sight, the two would realize that they were facing each other.

But such thought would never brush their mind right now.

"We'll gather our men here in this cave, while you will wait here. When we're all ready and Konoha has fallen into our trap, we aim at their weakest points"

"Brilliant!" applauded a high scratchy male voice, "So then our allies will meet us at the rendezvous point... Here"

"Exactly,"

Everything was perfect and proved that planning in advance was once again inevitable.

Had it not been for this stuffy closet and this overly coarse kimono, her sweat wouldn't add in to her discomfort and rub against the stiff material causing her to itch.

After controlling herself for too long, her hand jerked free and tried to reach for her back, knocking down a broom that lead to a chain of other noises that clattered on the floor.

"What the hell Ino?!" hissed Sasuke.

Silence befell their world outside before Sauke reached out and grabbed the scratching Ino.

"Don't take this personally," murmured Sasuke before deosculating her with his strong tongue. Ino knew what was going on and why, but she just couldn't help but take advantage over this situation.

She grabbed large hands that firmly held the small of her back and moved one lower to cup a firm round ass cheek, she wrapped a leg around his waist while leading his other hand to palm her breast.

Sasuke groaned as his heart raced, pumping warm blood to his groin that she now grounded into. He turned them around and pressed her against the wall.

She raised her dress with one hand, while the other unzipped his pants. She whimpered when he suckled the crook of her neck and felt his warm boner prod her inner thigh.

With a firm hand pressed against the wall, Sasuke gripped her ass cheek harder as he positioned himself at her entrance, grunting when he felt coarse hair before sliding past wet, moist and fleshy folds--

"Hold it right--woah!!"

The moment light spilled into the room, Sasuke began deliriously thrusting into Ino. She wrapped her legs around his waist and fought back her moans as she buried her face on the crook of his neck.

"Do you mind?" grunted Sasuke before Ino began suckling on his earlobe, winking at their _interruption_

The henchman swallowed audibly, "Sorry man, I didn't... Um, I'll leave you guys alone and--"

"Oh," gasped Ino, raising a leg to rest it on Sasuke shoulder. Both emitted a shuddering groan as the reccurent sound of wet flesh clapping against flesh distinctly echoed in the room. Diving deeper against pressed walls, Ino ardently undulated underneath him as she matched his manic thrusts.

When their interruption hadn't left yet, Sasuke glared over his shoulder before the door slammed shut. He groaned when Ino gripped his raven locks and arched her back,

"Sa-Sasuke," she'd whimper as she bit her lip, "We... Weshouldstop"

"Yeah," he grunted, "we should"

He groped the base of her fleshy thighs, parting her by just a little more as he idyllically sank deeper into her spasmodic grip. A feral growl escaped his lips while a surprised gasp escaped hers.

A spark twinged in both parties' groin as constant detrition that saliently gnawed into their wavering dam: they were coming.

Ino tossed and turned, a constrained grimace set on her face as she blissfully sobbed. Sasuke pressed her against the wall and vehemently pounded into her as he firmly held her buttox.

She mewled and clung on to his neck until--

"Sasuke!"

It wasn't too long until Sasuke's sacs and abdomen cascaded his essence into her. He groaned in satisfaction while subconsciously bucking into a limp blonde.

"I'm stopping..." he grunted

"Mm" mewled Ino as she watched Sasuke through heavy-lidded eyes. The dull throbs that she felt pumping in her finally grew more recognizable as her cloak of contentment dropped to embrace another round.

Sasuke grunted and pressed his forehead against Ino, eyes widening as his libido kicked up a notch. Perhaps after this... He should pull out...

"Kami," breathed Ino

And maybe dive back in again...

"Yes..."

No, jerk off...

"Ngh!" gasped the blonde

Then he ruggedly drove back in--

"Sasuke!"

Maybe after a few more--oh heck with it! Can't he just stop when he feels like it?

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Sakura's breath hitched, knowing that everything that was happening was wrong... But right now she couldn't care less.

She knew she shouldn't be in Gaara's office with his manhood standing out of his pants. But he was the perfect display of a male specimen.

Sakura swallowed as she examined veins bulge from its tight unmarred skin and caressed him with wanting eyes. Miniscule, milky liquid exuded from the tip of his mushroom head before slowly trailing down.

Gaara suppressed a shudder as the air conditioning blew in, amplifying his excitement. Her blatantly ogling his tool was dangerously turning him on. No longer handling it, he gripped his throbbing shaft and pumped it once. A hiss escaped his teeth as he pressed his eyes closed.

Sakura's heart fluttered, cheeks blushed and clit throbbed.

He tightened his grip and harshly tugged himself before pushing down. A short grunt flew from his lips as he began securing his strokes with eyes intensely focused on Sakura.

Her diffident demeanor bore a rosy glow as ruttish voyeurism began devouring her moral integrity. It began stirring heated liquid to swim about in her loins as it tempted her to bend to pleasures.

She watched his face tense as his hand began a frenzied pace, then resumed her awed gaze at his carnal movements.

He grunted, leaned back as he cumbered rolling his eyes shut, sweat began accumulating as his hips bucked once on it's own accord.

The thought of cumming before Sakura was turning him on.

The girl watched with shallow breaths and studied the way his facial muscles tightened. A groan slipped past his mouth as he drew in ragged breaths.

"Sakura," he said through gritted teeth, "watch"

His once calm face scrunched, as he could no longer resist his needs, he vigorously tugged, squeezed and pushed against his shaft with his free hand cupping his sacs. With one fluid motion, he thrusted into his hand tilted his head back with a strangled groan of her voice and ejected his seed while hips continuously rocked to and fro, shuddering against his grip.

He kept his eyes closed as he focused on steadying his breaths, yet moist warmth interrupted him. Tiredly looking past his lids, he saw Sakura tracing his head with her tongue.

He groaned, randy wants rekindled under her touch. She took his hand as she began sucking them dry, through pink lashes, lecherous green eyes settled on his smothering gaze.

His eyes ghosted sweet caresses on her cheeks, lips, neck and breast.

She sucked his middle finger harder and massaged it with her tongue. He wondered what it was like to feel her flexible muscle on more sensitive skin.

When his fingers left her mouth, she guided his hand to one soft mound of flesh. She gasped at his grip; her breath fanning his rock hard boner. Her eyes narrowed when she came face to face with it. Gaara lightly squeezed her, and she moaned listlessly between his thighs.

Her hand rested on the insides of his thighs and gently rubbed them as she poked his fleshy spheres with her tongue.

"Sakura," he grunted

She nuzzled her nose on the side of his shaft as it pressed its warm skin against her eye; she slowly sucked both sacs in her mouth and began massaging them with her tongue, successfully stealing a strangled moan from Gaara.

She slowly blinked in a steady rhythm, intentionally tickling him. His steady breaths now came out shallow and labored.

She grazed her teeth on his soft skin before her tongue slid against them, feeling balls flick side to side according to where she rolled their skin at.

She whimpered when he sharply tugged her hair in a desperate attempt to pull her out, only to moan in surprise when he felt his base reverberate in her mouth.

"Enough teasing," he growled

She lightly tugged the coarse wiry hair that whorled by the opening of his pants, earning another choked gasp. Finally, she let him go, making her way to his head as she dragged her tongue to its peak.

Gaara stiffened in anticipation as he had an idea to what she's planning. His thoughts scattered when he felt pained pleasure arise from the edge of his mushroom head. He watched her nibbling, before the tip of her tongue lightly traced its fleshy rim as she swirled her tongue around his head, tasting his acerb essence.

She suckled it softly--

"Sakura," gasped Gaara as he pressed his head back on the seat, gathering all of his self-control to further indulge himself with her torturous curiosity.

His voice hammered down on her groin, as she took out her sexual exploration on him. Four nails on each hand teasingly raked his shaft as she sucked and lifted her head up. He pressed his hips down as he scowled in unexplored pleasures, then helplessly relaxed when his head dove into her cavern and shuddered when nails slid down and spread down to his base, entangling themselves on his coarse hair.

Then she moved up again, her tongue dipping into the crevices of his shaft--

"Kazekage-sama!"

Wind scattered paper in the air as the door swung wide open.

Gaara smoothly lifted Sakura with his sand to hide under his desk, because her lips were glued to his manhood, he grunted at the sudden tug; nonetheless he grabbed the nearest folder on top of a pile to pretend working and he did all that with just a blink of an eye.

The moment papers settled on the floor, a chuunin greeted him and apologized. She flicked her tongue on the flap of skin and he had to bite back that gasp as he crumpled the folder he held.

The chuunin swallowed as he noticed this, "Um... I'm sorry" the bent down to--

"No!" he grunted, a hand reaching forth before he slammed it as a fist on his desk, face hardening to conceal his carnal pleasure.

Through gritted teeth, he ground out, "Don't. Pick. Them. Up"

"Y-yes sir" stuttered the chuunin... He had never seen the Kazekage this aggravated before.

Wanting to help lighten the mood, the boy grinned, "What a fine weather we're hav--"

"Just report" growled Gaara

"Yessir!" squeaked the boy as he began.

Gaara tried his hardest to focus, but when he had nothing left to do but sit and listen, though he sat and listened, it was only because he had been focusing on Sakura's adroit skills. Darkness now dusted his peripheral vision as each eye wielded colors that varied in contrast, coaxing his eyes to oll back and close.

She relaxed her throat and sat on her haunches, preparing to engorge his shaft down his throat, successfully harvesting a--

"Come again?" asked Gaara, smoothly disguising a moan that escaped him

"I said..."

But he didn't really care, what he cared most was the fact that Sakura was working her way down his boner.

"Hmm..." sighed Gaara as he closed his eyes, and that went by unnoticed

Fortunately, the young chuunin took that in as an impressed comment and conveyed his report with much more details.

He nearly croaked when he felt her throat tighten around him with her tongue swirling every inch of flesh. Then she fervently sucked like a vacuum as he drew back to his tip, ascending teasing nails against his skin. When he refused to make any more noise, Sakura finally bobbed her head at an agonizing pace. A stifled choke tore through sealed lips and widened eyes.

"Are you okay, Kazekage-sama?" asked the concerned chuunin

"Leave," he answered abruptly, clenching his jaws to fend off more vocal--

"Should I--"

"Leave? Yes"

"But"

"Just," he growled menacingly, tendrils of sand rising around him, "Leave."

"Yessir!" yelped the pale boy before dashing out of his office.

The moment the door sealed shut, Sakura pushed him back and buried her face deeper between his legs. Gaara groaned in unrestrained pleasure as he pressed his head against his seat.

He shuddered when she dove right back in after suckling a little harder than the last and tightened her throat when she ravenously engorged him again. Then she massaged his fleshy sacs just as they began winding up along with his burning abdomen--

God he was so close--

"Sakurawhatareyou--ngh!!" he thrusted his hips up both consciously and unconsciously.

Sakura accidentally channeled her chakra to his groin, stimulating him to a premature brink of euphoric bliss. He shuddered, and growled menacingly when his release hadn't arrived. But either way, the build up of heightened senses threw him into frenzied humps; he grabbed Sakura's head and stabilized himself as he firmly rolled into her orifice with immense magnitude.

She moaned and gazed at Gaara whose calm face now tightened into a deep, exasperated scowl.

"Let me cum, dammit" he hissed,

His sacs seared in pained pleasure and his abdomen churned in binding warmth, his vision ebbed away and his hearing dulled. All senses nullified and focused on the area where Sakura ravenously latched. Gaara embraced the feeling of drawing near, believing that it was the best part of all. Here he could close his eyes, tilt his head back and brace himself; had it not been for the chakra she poured into his sacs that made him--

"Sakura!" he growled primally; he clenched his jaws later on, to repress anymore groans that screamed her name.

Sakura gagged when he rocked exaggerated humps into her mouth while slowly sinking back to his seat with hands firmly holding her head in place even as he finished. Cum flowed out of her mouth because of that, depriving her of swallowing him up. Aggressively, she pinned him down and gulped down as much as she could, sucking him dry until there was none left.

Gaara panted heavily and it wasn't long before his breath evened. He peered down and mused at Sakura still nibbling his tip. He hissed and narrowed his eyes.

"Never," he said, "Never do this again"

"Mm-hm," she said, lips softly wrapped around his member

He sensuously closed his eyes and hummed in suppressed delight, "You do this often with Uchiha?"

Sakura stopped. Gaara regretted... But was somewhat relieved--that she stopped.

Now he was having second thoughts. Seriously, what good was a rising cock when left untouched?

It was inhumane to neglect such necessity!

Sakura rolled back on her heels, and carefully stood, had she not been stuffed under his cramped desk, her numb legs wouldn't give away.

She yelped when she was aslant the floor, and froze when she hung in mid air with a tightened collar suffocating her. Glancing over her shoulder, she found Gaara still slumped on his seat with a lazy grip by her collar.

Clearing her throat, she tried standing up again. When she no longer wobbled, she dusted herself and head for the door.

"Where are you goi--"

"Home," she interrupted, obviously in a hurry the moment she logical reasoning resumed its natural place in her mind.

"About that..." began Gaara as he zipped his pants and reached for his stash of tissues in his drawer

Halting in her steps, she asked, "What about it"

Gaara began rubbing his stain off his pants, debating on whether or not he should tell her... "Do you remember the chuunin earlier?"

Peering over her shoulder, she hesitated asking him for a moment; but before she decided, he interrupted her.

"He was sent to a mission with a group of genins to get most of your belongings"

"And..?"

When he didn't answer, she fully turned to face him; "you sent the chuunin and his team to a mission to get my stuff and 'what'?"

By the time she finished her question, she realized she was standing before his desk again with an answer of nothing more but his blatant silence to scream the obvious.

She seethed, "Oh no you didn't"

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**A/N**: dunno if you guys understood what they were talking about--but hey waiting for reviews to turn up would give me enough time to think, ahem~

*Guilt tripping*

u;;

Yeah well, hope you guys do the right thing.

Wahahahaha, implied ransom, anotha fifteen reviews~!!

Going to more important stuff, yeah, I kinda flew with my sister… and so lost the time I was supposed to post this one up—sorry for the hold up ^^;;

Anyways, I'm trying to jailbreak my phone, kinda forgot to unlock the system, so the phone itself locked resulting to another massive loss of documents…

But I think it was for the better this time, because I was starting to run dry on the story (I've noticed)…

O.o

Anyways, I guess it's a new start for Chapters nine, ten and eleven all over again…

*sighs* =,=;;

P.S. thanks for the reviews~ ^^;;


	9. Preparation

**Word Bank**

_Tacit_: v. unspoken

_Whorl:_ n. syn: spiral, coil, curl, twist, vortex

**Chapter Eight**

"Hey Dosora, you're your back on guard," said the gnarly man who sluggishly leaned on the wall.

The buirdly thug grumbled his response as the man took off, leaving the thug to stand on his post next to a graffitied wall that had a specifically large kanji sign that read 'Dream'.

Crouching low against the wall, both Ino and Sasuke withdrew their attention to face each other. Mumbling into their mouthpiece, Ino elaborated her plan where Sasuke nodded in assurance.

Drawing out three senbons tied to kanji written-ribbons, she tossed them accurately on designated points on the larger kanji writing. Ino felt the abrupt fluctuation before she darted through the wall with the Uchiha on her heels.

They reattached themselves on the ceiling again, gaining awkward footing as pipelines snaked through their path. So instead of crawling upside down like some horror movie ghost, they maneuvered themselves upright as Ino took the lead.

As they crawled down their path, soft incoherent murmurs escalated to clarion words as the dim hall grew brighter. They languidly moved on to the pipeline nearest to the walls where shadows stuck on to the most.

By the time they reached a turn, the two saw a large round table with a map lying across its wooden surface and above it, hovered a rusty chandelier. Kunais, senbons and shurikens messily pinned the map on random places.

"Fine, then I'll reposition my troops here," said an Amegakure ninja with sunken cheeks, he yanked out a kunai from the map and stabbed it thirty degrees east from its starting point.

"Aye, but you'll be brushing against Suna's borders" spoke another man who wore his Iwa forehead protector on his arm

"That's the idea," said the latter man, "we'll be blocking their shortcut with Leaf--"

"So we may attack them both?"

"Not head on, no" spoke another another ninja from Amegakure, "we'll draw them out using decoys and then you're men will pour into--"

"That is preposterous!" roared a member from Iwa

While a heated argument began to arise, one ninja from Rain backed out and headed towards them.

Ino drew out a scroll from her pouch and handed it over to Sasuke, who wordlessly took it from her before.

He leaned back until he fell. He maneuvered his body in mid air with an outstretched hand, aiming for the junction between his target's neck and shoulder before pinching it upon contact.

By the time he landed on the floor, he pressed his target's broad body against the shadows of the wall before turning to Ino with a curt nod.

Wasting no time, she activated her mind transfer technique and it wasn't long until her body fell limp among the pipes and the ninja before his grip stirred with a sly smirk on his scarred face.

Sasuke handed Ino the scroll before he leaped into the pipelines to watch over her body.

He tugged the man's shirt and had to refrain from vehemently retching at the repugnance of the body's stench.

Once she dove back into the crowd, one scrawny man—that reminded Ino of a crow—rubbed his nose and murmured, "Where've ya been?"

"Washroom," muttered Ino

The man snickered, "The wha'?"

Quickly, she switched her brain to manly mode and answered again, "I said I went to take leak"

"Yeah, well I guess the boss ain't too happy with these Iwa imbeciles," remarked the man, "whaddya think,"

Ino furrowed his brows and raised and lowered her shoulders. The man shook his head and readjusted the bandana on his, "dunno what happened to you, but the boss'll be askin ya things later."

"What?" hissed Ino, this was not part of the plan

"Well you seem to be a panickin', ran outta ideas tonight?"

"Yeah," muttered Ino, "I can't really think straight right now"

"Wuz it the tequila?" grinned the man, flashing gnarled, yellow teeth that emitted a stomach churning stench

"Yeah, must be" choked Ino, immediately looking away to avoid regurgitating her breakfast

"Well too bad," mused the man

"Why?"

"'Cuz he's calling ya over there, see"

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"Oh no you didn't,"

Gaara leaned back and propped his chin on his last two fingers while the other two pressed against his temples; he lethargically scanned Sakura from head to toe.

Immediately, the kunoichi's anger alleviated to make way for self-consciousness.

"What are you looking at?" asked a defensive Sakura before crossing her arms over her chest like an 'X'.

"Hmm..." he narrowed his eyes, "That won't do"

"What won't?" she gradually backed for the door, ready to bolt out in case he planned to do anything funny.

"Do you have other choices of apparels other than the ones you are wearing?"

"Why?" she narrowed her eyes, she reached a hand behind her and blindly searched the door knob

Gaara gazed at her with surreptitious eyes, "don't leave"

"Me? Leave?" she pointed to herself as she continued inching towards the door, "puh-lease, it's not like I'm planning to run away or anything" she hoped reverse psychology would work

"Good," he said, rising from his seat as he approached her with long strides

Sakura hugged herself, closed her eyes and squealed "Please don't!!"

When she felt no grabbing action but the smothering hush, she peeled her eyes open and found Gaara standing beyond the doorway giving her an askance look.

"What are you talking about?" he folded his arms across his chest

Sakura broke out in a fit of maladroit giggles before she cleared her throat, "um... Please don't... Uh... Forget to eat lunch...?" She grinned

He arched a brow, "will you stop talking nonsense and get over here" a question that came out a statement

"Why?"

Sand dangerously wallowed towards her--

"Okayokayokay! I'm coming" she sputtered, raising her hands and one foot up before he finally stopped.

With a haughty huff she stomped towards him with a dangerous gaze and a raised finger rudely pointing at him at such a close distance, "I dare you to do that again"

Unfazed by her threat, he challenged her, "okay"

His sand began rising around him.

Sweat began accumulating, as fear overtook her and stiffened her body, through gritted teeth she spoke, "Don't. You. Dare."

A corner of his lip twitched upwards, "but you just said--"

"Forget what I said," interrupted an exasperated Sakura as she sliced the air before her, "just don't do that again!"

With a quirk of his brow, his sand slithered back to his gourd and began walking. She stared incredulously at him before a tide of raging emotions came crashing down on her--

"Hurry up or--"

"I'm coming! I'm coming, jeez... Where are we going anyway?"

He gave her a solemn look, and slightly flinched when he spoke, "shopping"

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Sasuke watched in anticipation as his partner walked down the path the crowd made way for. He swallowed, unsure if this would bring about the failing end of their mission.

He knew there was nothing to worry about when escaping, but such choice was far too delicate to risk, for the enemies would know that a spy from Konoha had been sent to them.

When Ino bowed before the two men by the map, the Iwa nin spoke

"As the Amegakure's representative, I bring you the unbiased opinion from one of my brightest men--"

'Oh no' panicked Ino

"--that has never let me down when it came to decisions." the lofty man announced

Ino shot a hidden worried glance at Sasuke, who in turn watched her in anticipation. Wasting no time, Ino withdrew into her victim's mind and touched a corner of his memory to review his impressive past.

Hurling back into the real world, the Iwa nin asked her, "What do you suggest we do about this?"

Preparing to recycle words and perception, she procrastinated by approaching the table and scrutinizing the messy--

"Yobuki-san!" a faint voice resonated down the hall with footfalls accompanying the person's arrival.

All heads turned to face ninja who held back his exhaustion as he stood by the foot of the hallway, sternly pinching Ino's three ribbon-tied senbons as he held it high. "An intruder, my lord"

There was a moment of silence before Yobuki, the Amegakure's representative, began throwing orders around.

"Three platoons to the west wing and south, two to the east and the north. Make sure all exits and entrances are blocked, Maguri," he said, "you take care of the map, make sure it won't fall into the wrong hands,"

"Hai," Ino muttered as she quickly rolled it into a scroll and smoothly tucked it away from the decoy to avoid later confusion.

Two thirds of their plan had succeeded.

And as further Iwa nins scattered about in a mess, Ino moved with the crowd, disappearing into the shadows of the wall to rejoin Sasuke.

She first handed over the original scroll, brought her hands up to dispel the jutsu and then reentered her body.

They gingerly placed the body down, disguised themselves as fellow Iwa nins and smoothly flowed with the bustling current that headed out of the hall. Many poured into the dank alley, as they popped out of the wall like ghosts, among them were Ino and Sasuke.

"We have to get back to our inn and--"

"I've already logged out and sealed our stuff away," answered Sasuke, voices lowering before they walked along the walls with a calm pace

"When?" asked Ino as she casually walked behind him, feigning innocent intentions like a normal by passer would.

"When you were forging the decoy,"

Ino couldn't help but smile, she knew that Sasuke was a good choice to go with her on this mission.

The moment they slipped past the gates they hastily melded with shadows until they reached the safe foliage of forest leaves and the heavy downpour that washed away their trail.

"Hey Sasuke..."

He didn't respond

"About the closet--"

"Don't talk about it," he interrupted her, _never_ talk about it again... Please"

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Gaara folded his hands on his pockets as he walked side by side with Sakura who pretended perusing clothes. They've nearly spent an hour in the shopping district and she hadn't even taken a dress out of the rack yet.

"Sakura, we haven't got time to spare for the whole day, you know?"

"I know," nodded Sakura before swiping a loud yellow, frilly dress and pressed it against her body, "What do you think?"

He silently berated her before she returned it with an awkward chuckle that made her resume perusing clothes again,

"This is why we're still here" muttered Sakura

"I beg your pardon?" spoke Gaara

With her turned to him, she just shook her head and moved on to the next rack. Gaara watched her and listlessly scan through clothes with disinterest

"If you don't like it here, we can go to the next one," he suggested

"What am I supposed to be looking for anyway?" snapped Sakura as she spun to face him

"A dress for tonight's festival"

"What?!" gasped Sakura, "B-but I don't know what to wear!"

"That's why we're here"

"Yeah, but seriously. Me? Shop? Clothes?" Sakura guffawed, "Gaara, it's like you don't know me anymore"

He watched her, 'what is she talking about?'

"I don't shop during my free time anymore, I don't really indulge myself with shopping anymore--I don't even have any free time to begin with," she explained

"And you expect me to--"

"Here," said Gaara, silencing her when he swiped a dress from a nearby rack and tossed it to her. He moved on to the next rack and pulled another one

"And here, and here and here and here and here," he said, a pile of clothing with a pair of feet now stood where Sakura once was. Using his sand, he shoved her towards the dressing room while he walked behind her.

Leaning back and digging her heels on the floor did little for Sakura as she dove straight into an empty room. Gaara sank on a sofa that faced the dressing room as he casually waited, head turning as he scanned for more clothes.

_Eclipse_ was a luxurious store in Suna where all the noble and rich purchased their choice of clothing. In our world, it probably matched Elle, Michael Korr, Chanel and whatever we found sophisticated and expensive.

When it took longer than what Gaara expected, he called out, "You okay in there?"

"_No_," she articulated "the zipper _ate_ my hair"

Gaara blinked, "seriously, you _okay_ in there?"

Sakura scoffed, "seriously, the zipper _ate_ my hair"

Gaara openly smiled in amusement, "why don't you just cut it off with a kunai like you did before?"

"What do you mean _cut it off_? You want me to--oh, Oh! Ha ha ha, very funny" her head poked out of the wooden door with one side of her head wielding an angry mat of tousled hair, "will you just get in here and help?"

Mocking a defensive look, Gaara raised his arms across his chest like an 'X' "Why?"

"So I can rape you," she rolled her eyes before popping out of the dressing room, hugging the dress whose _zipper ate her hair_ and yanked Gaara by his as she dragged him back to the cramped dressing room.

When she let him go, she walked over to the mirror and began fiddling with the zipper with a pained look whenever she tugged at her hair.

Gaara, on the other hand began preening his red angry locks, "No one touches my hair," he muttered more to himself

"Yeah, well nothing _eats_ mine," she grunted as she began picking at pink whorled locks, "will you get over here and make yourself useful?"

Gaara's eyes dragged across the pristine flesh on her back with a horizontal strip of clothing for his eyes to linger on and his mind to dwell, "I think I shouldn't"

"And why not?" she huffed, planting her palms on her narrow waist while glaring at him through the mirror

He tore his eyes from the back to meet her gaze, "I might… rape you,"

There was a momentary pause before Sakura burst into laughter, "you make it sound funnier, now get over here and help. Please"

But he didn't. Instead, sand began stroking her hair and thinned into threadlike tendrils as it wove into her pink locks. She held her breath and watched in awe before the dress effortlessly pooled to her feet.

"Thank you!" grinned Sakura, but when he turned, the redhead was gone. Raising her voice, she hollered, "Gaara?"

"Whenever you're wearing a dress, step out so I can see"

"Okay"

"And Sakura,"

"Yeah?"

"If _zippers_ ate your hair again, I promise you a nightmarish eve"

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Tonight was the festival and the mission was over. Though not as he scheduled, but roughly as planned. When he and Ino were dismissed, he didn't but waited for the younger blonde to leave.

Just as she shut the door behind her, she heard

"... The baby?"

And that was all it took to leave her wide-eyed and curious.

What baby?

Whose baby...?

That seemed like a stupid question, who else would Sasuke care about the most?

Sakura.

... And a baby?

Was forehead girl carrying the Uchiha's bloodline?

Ino wickedly smiled at her newfound interest. If Sakura was the only reason why he's holding on to her, or the baby or the tacitly bleak relationship they were currently in, then she might as well throw in the headlines on her billboard forehead.

Brilliant gossip was made juicier by hard cold facts after all.

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Confusion was a beautiful word that perfectly smothered and shrouded Sakura's mind.

Though their personalities are virtually the same, loving Gaara and loving Sasuke were still two very different things.

Her love for Sasuke was a psychological process of brainwashing herself constantly by force that converts her form of respect for him to a ravenous idea of fooling herself into loving him that the inkling idea drowned her mind, and began creeping towards her heart until it was ominously intoxicated. So the day he left Konoha, she fell helpless and could do nothing more but cry over it.

Apparently calloused by his cold departure, his sudden return to Konoha left her indifferent though feigned otherwise. No one knew, of course. Everyone believed that the only way to make her happy again would be the Uchiha's return, to see her unaffected would seem rather awkward. And so she stuck to it...

She wasn't exactly faking... She just wanted everyone to believe that nothing was wrong with her even if there was, because even if they did notice her sudden emptiness she wouldn't even be able to explain herself and from there, several conclusions will harvest a rumor.

She didn't want any of that. And so she decided to approach the Uchiha and pretend to be the old Sakura.

Unfortunately, things took a much unexpected turn.

It was different for Gaara though. Her love for him was as effortless as a pollen drifting along the currents of the breeze where later on that pollen will nestle on an apathetic flower and later on bear a forbidden fruit that neither expected.

Now 'forbidden fruit' in this context can lead to several meanings, one could be the child she carried, and the other would be the attraction that each harbored. Neither of the two wouldn't have to be so forbidden if Sakura didn't allow herself to entangle in one of the Uchiha's possessive grip.

But she did, and now she was in a dilemma.

"You seem distant," mused Gaara as he set down his cup of tea

"And you seem offbeat," she mumbled as she lazily reeled in her mind. She sank in his plush leather armchair and took her tea from the marble coffee table.

"I had your things moved to the room adjacent to mine,"

She tore her lips from the rim of her glass, "adjacent meaning...?"

"It's right next to mine,"

"Oh," Sakura nodded, he didn't have to be so formal with words. Her eyes took in the details of his spacious living room. A bejeweled chandelier hung from the high vaulted ceiling, complementing the red velvet carpet that cloaked the vast parquet floor. Matching light curtains draped elegantly on wide windows that filtered light in the hall, bringing forth a lazy, tranquil ambiance.

"Nice place..." she took a sip, "but... Why would you want me to stay over?"

"So that I can monitor you," he said

She arched a brow, "but won't you be at the office?"

"Never said I have to stay here," he crossed his legs and folded his arms, "the festival will be tonight, you'll be accompanying me as we meet Daimyos from both Wind and Fire Countries--"

"Why?"

"--the festival will end tomorrow night and after that, all portals created in the tower will be disconnected, which means that we'll leave for Konoha tomorrow--"

"Why?"

"--to visit the Hokage and apply her breakthrough regarding your pregnancy--"

"What about it?" she began feeling as if her questions were quite futile since he seemed to know what to say next.

"--Leaf and Sand will wage war with Stone and Rain by late December, giving you at least six months time of preparation; you'll be due by your second trimester"

Sakura choked on her tea. She quickly set her cup down and began sputtering as she hastily recollected the remnants of her mind. "That fast?"

A stern gaze peered over the rim of his glass when he took a sip. "That is why you'll be staying here during your condition"

Her eyes widened in anticipation, slightly peeved when he calmly took another sip of tea.

"I'll be preparing you"

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**A/N:** And there you have it~!!!

Chappie Eight~

BTW, I posted up a new story, Project Princess, it sounds sucky, but there's more to it than the name… this one's a romantic comedy…

It's about four uber handsome dudes of the school, Gaara, Naruto, Sasuke and Sai who's got to turn Gothic Sakura into a perfect princess if they want to continue living in their awesome mansion~!!

Strange, but new~!!

Try dropping by and review there as well, I need to know your opinions~

Thankeez~~~

Hey, don't forget to review here, too~

^^;;

Thank You to those who reviewed~~


	10. Range of Emotions

**Word Bank**

_Venter_: n. The womb

_Tote_: v. Carry with difficulty

_Excogitate_: v. Reflect deeply on a subject

_Suspire_: v. To sighf

_Strewing_: v. The act of scattering

_Torrid_: adj. Extremely hot

**Chapter Nine**: _Range of Emotions_

Jet black ink slid onto smooth skin with cool, damp bristles gathering chakra points concentrating on her womb. Ancient writings circled the point like the way it did on Naruto's seal. As instructed, she began concentrating on her reserves and focused them on the cool, tingling sensation tickling her abdomen.

The moment she felt the gentle strokes stop, she heard the way air would gasp when one hastily performed several sets of seal. When a clapping noise sharply echoed in the room, the kunoichi felt a pulse drain all the energy from her limbs and drag it all the way to her venter. The more she tried to gather chakra from her reserves and maintain it, the greater the drain.

"Concentrate Sakura" commanded Tsunade.

And she tried harder. But the more she did, the pulse would easily match her defense. It wasn't long before lactic acid became a menace to all her muscles, disrupting her chakra flow. Later, she felt the scalding lines rake her veins from within its walls and merge to the point of massive chakra collection. And it wasn't long before her head began teetering beyond the edge of her conscious mind, until she could no longer retreat and stay awake.

"Oxygen!"

Immediately Shizune reached for the mask and strapped it onto the fainted kunoichi.

"Set the Chakra stabilizer," commanded Tsunade as her glowing thumbs gingerly pressed onto the miniscule dot she drew beneath her navel.

"Get the scroll"

The moment she received the dry unraveled parchment, she placed it atop Sakura's tummy, faintly aligning the ring of ancient writings from both skin and paper. When it did, she lay down another set of seal before palming down the empty circle, setting off a wallowing cloud of smoke that emerged from the paper and shroud her right arm.

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It took ten days for Sakura to recover, and a week to understand Gaara's itinerary, two more to get used to it and four days to adjust to the unwanted morning sickness. The final week was used to run some tests regarding the fetus' development and her biological changes. Her stay in Sand was more or less monotonous with the occasional deviant approaches to their schedules, but the second month that came around took a slight whirl that strayed from their usual tight schedules. Until she hit the fourth month and began to feel the blatant changes she concealed quite well.

Sakura frowned when her belly button poked out from her shirt, and all the more frowned when she could realized that she could no longer fit in her narrow skirt, when just yesterday she managed to squeeze in. She was just in her fourth month but why did her tummy growth seem to double?

"Sakura," Gaara calmly spoke, "hurry up we have a schedule today--"

"Shut up will you?!" she shrieked before holding her breath when she tried fastening her skirt again. After sucking in her breath with bloated cheeks, she sighed in satisfaction when she finally managed to button her skirt in place. Then she froze when a strange undulation waved in her abdomen—_POP_!

_CLACK!_

Her skirt pooled to her feet after the button formed a tiny crack in the center of her door.

"Sakura?" Gaara knocked slightly, "We're running--"

"I KNOW!!" she roared then marched heavily towards the door. She swung it wide open; its wooden mass reverberated against the wall with massive force as she greeted Gaara with a deep frown. She muttered, "my _only_ medic skirt won't fit anymore… at it was supposed to be garter-ized!"

He slightly peered over her should and noticed the broken apparel helplessly nestling on the carpeted floor. Then he turned to Sakura with a calm visage, "Should we buy clothes?"

She scoffed, "you want me to go out wearing just this?!"

He sighed, unbuckled his gourd and began sliding off his maroon coat. Sakura immediately crossed her arms across her chest, "what are you doing?"

She squeaked and screwed her eyes shut when his shadow threateningly casted over her for a fleeting moment before feeling the warmth and weight of his coat. "Oh" she muttered.

He fluidly swooped down to retrieve his gourd then turned his back on her to quickly veil his smile as he buckled the container back on. Who knew innocent Sakura wasn't so innocent anymore. He shook his head.

"Where are you going?" called Sakura before hurrying over to him, "Why are you smiling?"

Gaara hardened his demeanor while Sakura narrowed her eyes, "you think I look ridiculous, don't you?"

He spared her a sideways glance, scanning her from head to toe. His coat was left unbuttoned, leaving an opening to reveal her hanging zipper shirt and cycling shorts. The color emphasized her fair skin's silkiness and brought more attention to her pink hair though it horribly obscured her figure. His long sleeves barely revealed her tiny fingers while the hem of his coat flapped against the back of her knee.

"Well?" she barked

"You look... _Cute_," he grounded out with difficulty

"I look what?"

"Nothing"

"No, I heard you say something"

He ignored her. Then he heard her steps come to a halt. He glanced over his shoulder and caught her frozen in mid step with her hands pressed to her belly with a shocked façade plastered on to her face.

"Saku—"

"Shh!" she hissed, and then beckoned him. He curiously approached her before she grabbed his hands and guided him to gently press her belly.

"Do you feel that?" she asked through a mere whisper

Gaara gazed at her then shook his head. He sighed, "It's only been four months—"

Sakura smirked and turned to him, "well?"

Corner of Gaara's mouth pulled back farther than his usual smirk, both hands now cupped her abdomen, "it moved" he kneeled before her and placed his ear against her tummy, slightly surprising her. She felt the push from within her as her tummy undulated against his cheek.

He released a short-breathed chuckle, "she moved again" he giddily looked up at Sakura fashioning a stunned look and asked, "did you feel that? Here"

He grabbed her hands and placed it on her tummy; he rose to her feet and then asked her again, "do you feel that?"

Sakura could no longer suppress her ecstatic giggles, "yes, I do!"

He let out a single-breathed chuckle, "I'm gonna be a dad, Sakura"

She could no longer help but watch him with a smile before she was caught off guard when he pulled her into an intimate hug and a kiss on the forehead. She was stunned and did nothing more but widen her eyes as she listened to Gaara whisper into her hair.

"I love you"

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"This feels wrong," muttered Hinata

"What is," asked Ino

"... Stalking?"

The blonde fell back from the cemented banister high on the rooftops and palmed the ground to support her weight. She sighed, "For the last time, we're not _stalking_, we're just _monitoring_ them"

"That's what you said last time"

Ino rolled her eyes and draped an arm over the Hyuuga heiress, "listen to me and listen well. A concerned friend would just like to assure a very vital information that needs to confirmed, so consider yourself lucky that I let you in this"

Unsure whether or not she could believe what she was hearing Hinata finally gave up.

"Okay first, we have to see why Sakura was admitted in the hospital, and then we fly to Suna"

"Fly?" the Hyuuga blinked

Ino rolled her eyes, "It's a figure of speech"

"But why bother now when it's nearly been two months or so?"

Ino rose to her feet and turned her back to the heiress, "because I'm gathering momentum for that impact"

Hinata knit her brows together when she managed to pick up on the blonde's intentions. She peered over her shoulder, "Ano..."

"What now?" sighed Ino, lazily turning to face her

"Um... I mean why do you want to ruin her so much...?" the heiress glanced down, ashamed by her rash choice of words.

Taken aback, Ino took a step forward with a raised finger and an open mouth, ready to answer that question but faltered when words failed to organize into sentences.

She stood at ease, sighing as she planted her hands on her hips. She tilted her head back and gazed at the white fluffy clouds strewing across the sapphire sky. Her eyes narrowed when sunlight peered through the clouds with smothering warmth that gripped her through the cloak of the cool day.

She gathered the momentary peace and let it clear her mind. "Why do I want her to ruin her so much?" she repeated the question then scoffed in amusement. With narrowed eyes, she turned to Hinata, "because I want to know her limit"

"And then?" asked Hinata, "What would you do after that?"

Ino turned her back with a scheming smile on her face, "I get Sasuke"

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"I feel ridiculous," muttered Sakura as she fashioned a peach, sleeveless dress with a ribbon tied to her back.

"Don't be" said Gaara, keeping an awkward distance from the kunoichi now. With a gauche tone of formality in his voice, he added "It's what pregnant women wear these days"

She pouted, "But I don't want to wear this"

Gaara just stared at her, looked away and then carefully asked, "So what do _you_ want to wear?"

"Your--" _coat. _Still, she held that thought. Who in the right mind would request for the Kazekage's favorite coat? She timidly looked at Gaara, "where did you buy your coat?"

Gaara released a short-breathed chuckle, befofre a blank look settled on his face; he took her by the hand and led her out of the store. Sakura furrowed her brows; Gaara never did these kinds of things... Nor was he perverted, or the fact that he was determined to convince her to have his child, or drag her by the hand across the street, or let alone smirk, or simply go ballistic with glee just this morning when he felt the baby move...

He scared her that way, the way he let tidbits of emotions slip past his guard when he was around her. Though it frightened her to have him like this, it somehow felt great to change someone who never had a wide range of emotions… like Gaara.

She gave the redhead a curious look as they wove through the quiet streets of Suna's lazy morning. It was the first time she recognized the new person residing within this man. Her eyes fell to the hand that held hers and almost immediately grew sensitive to the roughness of his skin, the warmth of his hand and his reassuring firm grip--

"We're here," said Gaara, looking up at the store then turned to Sakura, "I can ask Yuki-san to customize your apparels"

Sakura nodded with an dreamy visage, Gaara sighed, "Remind me to visit the library after this"

"What do you-- heeey!" whined Sakura, "Are you calling me stupid?"

Releasing her hand, he made his calm escape by hastily entering the shop. Being the crazy sadist he was, he still couldn't resist teasing this woman. He stepped into the once humble store, which was now a noble boutique because of his loyalty over the years.

"Ah! Gaara-kun" in the corner of the boutique was a young woman with her wavy brunette hair propping her shoulders, "It's been a--"

_CRASH._

Dust wallowed into the store as daylight displayed a growling silhouette by the threshold, "Gaara..." growled the figure

Gaara hummed and gave the frightened woman a polite smile, "I'd like you to meet Haruno Sakura"

Two green orbs glowed from the dense cloud of dust before the kunoichi dangerously striding in with heavy steps that threatened to crack the wooden floor. She marched right up to the redhead and jabbed a quick finger against his chest, "how _dare_ you slam the door at my face! Had I not used my hands to protect this kid, it'd be dead by now"

Gaara blinked, slightly grasping his guilt when he noticed the distinct marks of rosy patterns embedded to her face. "Never expected you to follow me that close--"

"And _then_ you called me stupid?!" she screeched, poking him again with slightly greater force. Through collar a thin line emerged when a cracking noise ever so lightly echoed in the quiet store, his armor of sand slightly wavered against her strength.

"A-ano, Hi!" greeted the woman, quickly catching Sakura's attention. She suppressed her squeak when the kunoichi glared at her then bowed deeply to escape her penetrating eyes, "I'm Yuki, you must be Gaara-kun's girlfriend"

Sakura's eye twitched then turned back to Gaara while pointing an accusing finger at the woman, "Who is _this_?!"

Gaara blinked.

"Ano... I--"

"Shut up bitch, I'm not talking to you!!" she roared with eyes deeply embedded into the man before her.

"Sakura," said Gaara with a stern voice, "that's enough--"

"Enough?" interrupted Sakura before she scoffed and bit her lower lip to fight back tears. She planted her hands on her hips, "you could've just told me you wanted to _see her_" she said, avoiding eye contact

"What are you--"

But she already stormed off leaving Gaara speechless, clueless and stationary. He turned back to Yuki, unconsciously flashing a look that could match to that of a lost puppy.

The brunette had been watching in amusement before she sat back down on her stool, resuming her work of creating more clothes.

"She's pregnant, isn't she?"

The corners of Gaara's lips twitched upwards, "She's also got quite a temper"

"But it's too sudden," Yuki looked over her shoulder, "she is pregnant, her tummy's as large as a pot and she just referred to her tummy the moment she came in… perhaps she as good as five months or so…?

Gaara shrugged. Yuki grinned then asked, "she your girlfriend?"

"I..." Gaara looked back at her with an unsure look, "Don't know"

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Sakura had been embedding craters on her path. The ground shook as villagers gave her a look that irritated her even more. She just returned their gaze with a deadlier one that sent them scurrying back to their ways.

Heavily heaving out deep breaths, she forcibly tried to calm down before she could cause any more damage. Little did she know that from afar two pairs of eyes have been studying her.

From one perspective, her world was devoid of proper colors that normally filled the world, where its vibrancy is appreciated. But through her eyes, chakra was greatly accentuated.

She scrutinized the pinkette's chakra flow, watching them circulate her body in sync with anger. It would wash Sakura from head to toe and then reside on that bulb of reserve bulging in her venter. Chakra swirled there for a fleeting moment before it began creating its own flow, granting her the conclusion: "She's pregnant"

Ino sighed, "it doesn't take a genius to figure that out…"

When the blonde opened her eyes, she caught Hinata averting her gaze. Furrowing her brows, Ino asked, "What's wrong?"

"One month..." the Hyuuga's words fell to nothing more but incoherent murmurs

"What?"

"Ino-chan," spoke Hinata, gazing down on the streets from above the rooftop of the torrid buildings, "do you plan to serve Konoha for the upcoming war?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Then accept the Hokage's fetal boost..."

"What are you talking about--"

The heiress hesitantly pointed a dainty finger at the blonde's belly.

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"Hmm... I see..." mused Yuki, "don't worry, no one will know"

Silence reigned save for the sand rushing back to him after returning the door back on its hinges.

"So what can I expect?"

Yuki giggled, "Constant cravings, sudden weight change, volatile mood swings..."

"And the glow?" asked Gaara as he stayed put with folded arms

The lady giggled again, "What glow? It never existed; if you want her to be happy shower her with precious jewels and fancy clothes"

"She's different"

"Well, then you'd know what she'd like"

A melancholic smirk grazed his lips as his eyes fell on the floor, "I do"

"Then give it to her," she encouraged

"It's not easy," he quietly added

The constant chattering and churning of the sewing machine came to a halt before the lady sympathetically asked him, "Why not?"

Gaara gave the woman an askance look before he slightly bowed, "Thank you for your time, Yuki-san" then he turned to leave to avoid the question and search for Sakura.

Had he not left any sooner, the sun would have already set, leaving poor Sakura for far too long. Yuki was the closest friend he had next to Naruto, she would calmly listen and then advise him. There really wasn't anything going on between them, but talking to her helped him reflect deeply and understand things in life he never usually encountered regarding his social issues.

He would admit that what he did to Sakura was hurtful and wrong. She was pregnant and deserved better treatment. He should have known better, he could have almost harmed their child… their… baby…

The more he thought of it that way, the more he despised himself. Why did he always hurt the ones he loves most?

He pondered and regretted the moment he perched on top of the tower's rooftop, sending thin tendrils of sand to pick up on her signature chakra as he began thinking of ways to make up for his maltreatment.

Aggravation soon came at hand when the sun already sank beyond the horizon and he still hadn't found her. What could he do to make her happy... Of course, he should be thinking about that, her condition is quite critical now that the jewel Tsunade set to boost the fetal development is intact her skin. This would mean that the child will be very sensitive to its environment and its mother's.

And then he was curious.

Because of the fetal boost, the baby was probably already developed enough to determine its gender... so what it a he… or a she?

"Gaara?" that familiar gentle voice reeled him back to the real world. If it weren't for his clouded thoughts, he wouldn't have missed the idea of also searching in the tower.

But it didn't matter now that she was here, standing before him with a pale face. Wordlessly, he sauntered towards her and then froze when she was merely a few inches away from him.

His first instinct of course was to hug her tightly, to apologize and then reprimand her for running away like that. But if he did... He feared that he might further confuse her in a way that might leave her torn when she's free to return home. The three worded, intimate phrase he impulsively babbled had just been an annoying slip of the tongue kind of thing…

He should try to control his emotions with a firm grip next time. He should also be careful when the baby moved; its tiny efforts were enough to strip him down from his usual self. Though it didn't scare him, it slightly pleased him… because somehow, he was giving Sakura a rough idea of how he felt—

Wrong, he can't let things get out of hand… She still has a commitment to attend to, and to sever it with a lengthy mission would hold him responsible for her social life since it never meant to merge with work in the first place. Though this baby was a strong connection that binds them together now…

"Gaara," Her troubled face worried him along with the ominous ambiance shrouding her presence. He knew that she was about to tell him something that would catch him off guard. So mentally, he braced himself.

"What's wrong?" he asked, hoping that it would have nothing to do with their baby and its development—

"Stone and Rain are approaching Konoha!"

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**A/N**: Wooow… that was the most… eventful day Gaara and Sakura ever had, perhaps a breakthrough from their dull daily schedule. I apologize for Gaara's OOC-ness, but… imagine just how much he had to hold in during her stay in Sand. He had a soft spot for the kid, and he was only inches away from his breaking point the more he was around Sakura.

So… I dunno, if I should have let him have that three-worded, intimate slip of the tongue… do you guys think it was too soon? Or sudden?

Well anyway, after a massive whirlwind from one emotion to the next, they come face to face with the reality of an upcoming war.

Hope I'll be able to deliver the next story as well as I expect it to be.

^u^

Please oh please don't ignore them reviews!!

I needs to feel yer love guys! Because I'm beginning to feel cold shoulders! There used to be at least six reviews per chapters above… and now, it barely reaches that point… *gasps*

^,^;;

Honestly, I get inspiration from the reviews you guys give... Please keep reviewing if you'd want me to quickly update... Or at least get started on the next one already...

Anyway, for advanced voting, **Should Gaara and Sakura have a boy or a girl, or twins**? Please choose well, I've got a plan for either of the three choices that I don't know what to give the pair… so, yeah, choose well, because the majority of the vote will lead to one of the three paths to weave a plot.

May the votes begin the moment you send a review!

^^;;


	11. By the Curse of One’s Twisted Fate

**Chapter Eleven: **_By The Curse of One's Twisted Fate_

Balance was a word that made life bittersweet.

A delightful pull can yank a person out of a miserable slump or throw in tidbits of depression when life seemed too good to be true. Between the two extremities, there will never be common ground unless twisted fate enjoyed a little pyrrhic victory.

Gaara, on the other hand, refused to believe that thought and considered himself rather invincible with his determination. But because he challenged life a little too much, Fate decided to test his limits.

The Kazekage was on the brink of his sanity as he sat in his office, empty minded and glassy eyed. The darkness of his office perfectly reflected the pit of his soul as his search for any sliver of hope gradually ebbed away.

His present state of shock defied reality but never strayed too far from it. Though constant denial couldn't help but slightly comfort him. Perhaps this turn of events should take place as early as now to remind him where he stood and what he was to her, but surely life couldn't be that cruel...

An abrupt knock reeled him out of his sea of thoughts, where he drowned in misery and choked in disbelief.

A chuunin stepped into his office, only to aggravate his throbbing chest. It was quite cruel, to say the least, to have this chuunin appear before him. This particular chuunin who happened to have been dispatched to transfer Sakura's belongings into his mansion to report to him that returning them to their rightful place was a complete success.

He didn't remember where things seemed to go wrong for these past few months. Perhaps he overlooked one event that made an overhaul to these things.

"Who assigned you this mission?" he evenly asked

The Chuunin froze, "I beg your pardon?"

"Did I even tell you to do that?"

"No, Kazekage-sama, but--"

"Just because they give advices doesn't make them any better than me,"

The Chuunin was rooted to his spot as the Kazekage rose to his feet and strode towards him. He leered into the younger male's eyes and growled vehemently, "Isn't it enough that I managed to save Leaf and Sand?"

The said male blinked once, then twice before looking away as he cleared his throat. "If I may be so brave sir, I would like to remind you that this is for the sake of your duty--"

Firm fingers wrapped around the male's neck before his feet rose inches away form the ground, Gaara glared at him then hissed, "You know nothing"

He hauled the boy out of his office and watched him bang painfully against the wall with a grunt before his feeble knees buckled and fell to the ground in a slouched sit. A trickle of blood stringed from the corner of his mouth before he wiped it away with the back of his hand; he watched the Kazekage with fearful eyes.

"None of you do,"

The sand wielder slammed the door shut before his legs gave way. An empty gaze lingered on his door as his eyes dragged along the talisman pinned in the middle of his oak wood door that bound him to his office... Literally.

Both Sand and Leaf came fresh from a victorious war, but only Gaara managed to see past that. He knew that it seemed far too coincidental to have Konoha's best ninjas dispatched to missions while Stone and Rain were attacking the vulnerable village. It wasn't long before he fell into the abyss of his troubled mind as events played vividly, haunting him with ease.

He already sensed the danger the moment he sent out his men to ally the weakened Leaf. Left alone in his village to watch over his people felt necessary, but he had been disarmed the moment intruders came flooding into his village from the tower itself.

He could have guessed that Leaf had been infiltrated, but he knew that he could easily finish off the ignorant enemy. He managed to stop a potential invasion from two villages in less than twenty four hours, only to realize the absence of Sakura. Events that occurred later began vividly flashing in his mind.

The moment unrealistic victory settled in the shaken villages, Gaara stepped out of his office minutes before he was called to a reference with Leaf. A strange urge to head back home and reassure Sakura's safety kicked into his instincts as he marched out of the tower. He glided past busy crowds greeting him as he headed home.

He entered the vast hall and called out to her, ignoring the hollow mansion's significant emptiness. When he waited by the main entrance, he suddenly felt ridiculous. In a place like this, the volume of his voice could possibly be as good as a whisper.

With an unusual hurried pace, he climbed up the stairs and dashed to her room to find it empty. By now, he knew she wasn't home.

His next destination was the hospital. It seemed reasonable enough. After all, there had always been the case of the inevitable casualties piled up by the war no matter how quick it had been settled.

The moment he entered the building, he approached to the receptionist and asked for Sakura whose answer only disappointed him. He raced out into the open and began turning, with his height, he managed to look over the heads of many.

A head full of pink hair shouldn't be that hard to find. After impatiently scanning the crowd, he stepped into the tower and transported himself into Konoha's via the transportation seal. Thick swarming clouds masked his surrounding before hissing away to reveal a cylindrical room with young shinobis throwing their torsos into deep bows upon his arrival.

He easily disregarded them and trotted down the hall. Amongst the sea of presences, one in particular stood out from the rest like the way cold air would easily intrude a hot and humid room. The presence grew stronger the closer he got, he took a turn in a slightly empty hall and took another that led him to a completely empty one. And by the end of the hall, was a door slightly left ajar.

He peeked through the opening with unusual gusto and never questioned his actions as he trusted his gut. In the dark room with tall shadowed drawers lined against cramped walls, a suspicious person moved discreetly about, as papers rustled according to swift fingers. Her blaring presence did little to hide from him since she virtually carried two chakras in one body mass, so even if she did manage to suppress her chakra, she did a poor job trying to conceal her child at the same time.

"Congratulations," the figure sighed before she stood up straight

For a moment, Gaara's heart leaped a mile from his chest before it stunned him in place the moment it sank back.

Slowly, she turned to face him with a large bulging piece of flesh angrily occupying a once flat tummy. In the dark, green eyes glowed past pink curtains of hair as gentle, pale hands disappeared into the pockets of his burgundy coat; the coat he had given to her.

He was blown away with relief that all the words he wished to tell her clogged in his throat and left his mouth dry, and yet he managed to speak with the slightest of his breath. "For our victory?"

A sober smile graced her pallid, softened face, "for finding me actually..."

A pause.

What was he to do next? Should he ask what she was doing here? Ask what she meant by that? What he should say to her next?

…

Ask what she was doing here? Come to think of it, what _was_ she doing in here? He heard a pair of feet shuffling down the hall as it echoed down its walls. Quietly, he entered the room and smoothly shut the door behind him. Now, darkness invaded cordial comfort. The switch was nearby though, but he didn't move to flick the lights on. Instead, he waited until his eyes fully adjusted in the dark.

"What do you mean?" He decided to ask while arms moved to fold across his chest.

She palmed the edge of the nearest steel drawers and half sat on its edge, innocently tilting her head to the side. "I doubted I could do it on my own"

"Do what?"

She shrugged, nonchalantly looking around as she tucked away a folder under her arm, "go look for some friends"

Gaara's blatant silence smothered the air with violent anger that threatened to strangle Sakura with vexing castigation.

"What?" she blinked, riskily breaking the ice

"You're pregnant," he stated

"And still a ninja," she lightly pointed out

"A very _pregnant_ ninja," he articulated

Sakura scoffed, "pregnant or not, I'm still a ninja,"

Gaara waged an unfathomable visage before he let his tension roll off with a sigh. Readjusting his gaze on her, he softly spoke, "I understand you--"

"Then it's settled!" she chirped merrily and tried exiting the room only to have Gaara showing no intention of letting her go… at all.

"I'm not finished," he closed his eyes, "just because I understand your obligations and personal desire, it does not defy the fact that your condition grants you dangerous vulnerability"

Sakura nearly tumbled away at the magnitude of his formal vocabulary. Thankfully, she had read more than just a book to help her get by, after all, she was _the _A student in her batch. Getting back to the point, Gaara was hell bent on ruining her well thought-out plans. Heatedly, she crossed her arms and sniffed, "So?"

"So," he gazed at her with such a bitingly close distance that challenged her confidence. After all, she didn't dare take a step back, nor did he, which led to the irking fact that they are in such an unorthodox immediacy, "it means that I won't let you go"

She held on to his gaze, rapidly throwing in a displeased look in each of his eye as her face gradually contorted from astonishment to disbelief to infuriation.

"What?" she hissed

Now it was her volatile mood swing that challenged his authority over her. Calmly, he repeated his sentence.

And mocking his calm, she planted her left arm on his left shoulder and smoothly brushed him aside. He didn't resist though, even if she didn't add chakra to move him aside, he just let flowed with the direction of her strength, looked afar and wished her conscience would knock some sense into her.

Now that her path was free, she just stood still.

"I know I'm stupid to go out like this... Useless, stubborn... And very much pregnant..." she closed her eyes, "but it's better than to sit down and regret. I need to find Naruto and Sasuke... And when I do, we'll come back together"

"Naruto is officially an MIA since his mission before this war, Sasuke too...." Gaara grounded out

Sakura shook her head, "I know where they are..."

Gaara turned to her, "... Let me come with you"

Sakura sighed, "That would be nice, but you're the Kazekage"

"Exactly"

She gave him a dubious look

"Because I'm Kazekage, I can assign this mission to you and alter rules to grant your permission--"

"And because you're Kazekage who succeeded the war, what do you expect?"

A morbid smirk framed his thin lips, "that neither of us goes"

She smiled at him daringly, "you know me too well for that... _Kazekage_-sama. I'm not your ninja, nor am I your wife and just because I've got your kid does not mean that it isn't mine. This is my body, my wish is its deed. My command is its purpose"

Gaara took a step closer and towered dangerously over her,

"Ignorant, selfish, stubborn fool" he growled, hands firmly grasping her shoulders, "You've already done me wrong, isn't that enough?"

She swallowed and looked away

"I told you to stay in my office, I told you I had it all under control, and yet you run beyond the village and faced an army of ninjas," he shook his head as he huffed out a strangled chuckle, "I nearly went insane when I knew what you were doing..."

"But I stopped them all by creating quicksand," she pointed out; still quite uncomfortable with the way he held her and the way he stood close.

Gaara shook his head, "That was all me,"

"Yeah right," she rolled her eyes

"The gourd I left you with... But it all went well anyway and none of that matters now," he took in a deep breath and calmed himself. "But that was only because you were in Sand, beyond my land and beyond my reach, you'll die out there with our--"

"Child?" she interrupted him, "You're Kazekage, why not just screw around with another bitch out there"

"Because I don't screw around with bitches," a monotonous tone wove his words out with an impact

"Then find a decent one--"

"That's why I can't let you go,"

Sakura blinked. She looked at him and then blinked again.

"I know you don't... like me" Gaara grounded out with difficulty, "but I'd rather go with you than _sit down and regret._"

He watched her hardened visage soften as green wide eyes sparkled in profound affection. Though he was charismatic enough to persuade well, what he told her with the strategic touch of recycling words had slipped unexpectedly from his rawest structure of explanation.

She wasn't the only one surprised because of that.

A dainty warm hand held his right, before she gave him a gentle squeeze. His hands fell to her side, but kept a scrutinizing gaze fixed on her. Because of this intensity cascading down on her, she found it difficult to even out his gaze. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

He couldn't fathom if they were sincere, apologetic or something else... But she was just smiling at him before she bowed and dismissed herself. He didn't do much when she left; he just stood there and watched her disappear out of his sight.

Her surreptitious departure left him confused.

The morning after became interesting. Once again, after settling all scheduled in Sand, he was off strolling in Leaf. Of course, he was never one for impulses, but whenever Sakura crossed his mind, his body would take charge.

Then out of randomness, he decided to head for the hospital...

To be greeted by chaos.

The calm, peaceful and reassuring ambiance Konoha's hospital was infamous for was easily put to shame by the panic rousing in the air. The once smooth flowing current that ran along the pristine marble floor were now flooded by fast-paced gurneys rolling erratically from one place to the next along with medic nins scrambling along with the crowd.

A blonde pigtailed head in the midst of the bustling crowd immediately snagged the Kazekage's interest as he made a beeline for her. He picked up his pace when she began moving quickly, her heated argument with one of the staff penetrated the wall of cacophony reigning in the hospital.

"What do you mean she can't come?"

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but we thought you sent her out on a mission"

Gaara stepped behind a wall as they turned to the left and stopped there to hold such revelation with him bearing witness to a classified commotion.

"She's pregnant, and war had gone, why would I send her out at a time like this?"

A timid voice answered, "She said she was assigned to a search party--"

"Let me guess," the Hokage cut in, "in search of Naruto and Sasuke?"

He didn't need to hear more to know who they were talking about. Stepping out from hiding, he boldly asked, "Where are they?"

"Ah, Gaara," mused the Hokage, turning to face him with folded arms. Obviously, she was far too busy to deal with him now, so instead of running through the standard hospitality, she went straight to the point. "What brings you here?"

"Where are Naruto and Sasuke?" he repeated with calm indignation

The Hokage sighed, not in the mood to beckon amiable repartee, "They're in Rice country--"

Rice country. He repeated to himself, as he managed to fish himself out of his thoughts. What could they possibly be doing in Rice Country? Perhaps they were sent on a mission before the sudden war outbreak—which is currently being dealt with to prevent further outbreak in the future...

That's right. He and the Hokage will soon be having a conference regarding this matter. Though slightly dazed, he staggered to his feet and strode to his desk. He needed to run through his itinerary before he began leafing through documents to try and keep calm...

He held one document in particular. It was a day fresh from release and here he was, reading it in much delay. He pulled himself away for a moment and tried to calm down—but how could he? It says here that Naruto—

"Yo Gaara!!"

Speak of the devil.

He felt his pit of anger swelling greatly from within as it bubbled into the ends of his nerves the more Naruto advanced towards him. His loud voice were nothing more but useless ramblings that whistled through the other end of his ear, yet the nearer he got and the louder he got, the more Gaara felt that this was all too real to happen.

Haphazardly looking up from the document, he found himself face to face with a bright, grinning blonde with his cheeky whiskers bending to the curve of his blissful features.

"What are you doing here?"

A flummoxed gaze erased Naruto's harlequin smile before the blonde drew back and stood upright. "What do you mean?" he asked, disappointment lay evident in his voice.

Gaara didn't bother sobering his friend from his harsh statement; instead he pounded his fist against the desk. The whiskered male froze from such violence he was sure had long disappeared from his kage friend.

"What's wrong?" asked Naruto

The sand wielder pressed his forehead against the pile of documents while his fingers dug into his scalp in hopes of calming him down. Then he snapped, papers flew off his desk with a clean sweep of his arm. He roared in distress and threw his seat to the window as he stood. The glass panes shuddered before the object clattered noisily to the wooden floor with a strident thud.

"Sakura…" he growled, then heatedly glared at his stunned friend, "she's looking for you…" _you idiot_. He held his tongue.

He couldn't take it anymore. A strong vibration racked his spine, and he didn't like the feeling at all. He planted his hands on his hips and gazed beyond his window, out to the open where the darkened sky glowed throughout the vast horizon. Somehow, he wanted to leave at that very moment.

He looked past his worried friend and eyed the open door. Somehow, he needed to get out soon. They can't keep him in his office. Not now that is.

Curse those old buffoons and restraining him from Sakura. Who gave them the right to do such thing? She was his responsibility, which meant he had all the right to attend to her whenever and wherever he wanted. And yet they blamed him—his _irresponsibility_ that became the cause of war.

Hell! How did that even connect? He didn't do _anything_ to aggravate the enemy and they dare _accuse_ him and _seal_ him in his office?

He couldn't take it anymore, he had been ignoring Naruto's worried concern for the past few minutes and strode towards the threshold and halted.

"What are you doing?" asked Naruto who never moved an inch away from his rooted spot.

Slightly peering over his shoulder, he answered with great determination, "getting Sakura back"

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The scorching heat abrasively smothered her skin as the dry, arid wind did nothing more but randomly tug at her hair. She couldn't exactly tell if this was worse than the cool mud digging into her toenails and caking the crevices between her toes but she knew that this was going far too much for someone who was carrying an extra luggage _within_ them.

His cloak flapped high behind her, cooling her damp back before it harshly whipped the back of her thighs as it always did the moment she arrived. She stood on the top of a slightly damp hillock, braced herself with more harsh wind trying to send her into its aerial torrents and scanned the meticulously drawn out plain.

Rice Country, she thought to herself.

It's been a while since she was sent off to such countries for a mission… this was Land of Sound now… wasn't it? She scrunched her face and shook her expression off with a smile. She ran an assuring hand over her belly and sighed, "Mommy still calls this Rice Country… beautiful, isn't it?"

She sighed.

But now she was back to her motives. Where were her two boys? Out of handfuls of towns that her eye could detect, where could they possible be? She must device a plan before heading out into the dangerous open, she was still aware of the war… and the vicious aftermaths; the reign of chaos lingers longer in war-broken lands.

Sure this country was right above Fire Country, but that didn't make her any closer to her village… actually, she was much closer to the enemies, and therefore, cannot gamble away her safety for the sake of searching her friends.

She clicked her tongue.

She was aware of the danger, but now she needs a plan… and plan away she did.

The sun already set, as fleets of cooler drafts entered the plains. Sakura shuddered in reflex. Concealing her chakra sacrificed her means of manipulating her body temperature. She found it annoying though with the fact that she was basically thrusting her child's presence out in the open since she hasn't mastered concealing someone else's chakra for that matter.

And moving on to greater complexities, skidding to the bottom of this annoying hillock was far more difficult with the extra weight daring her to lose her balance on her way down. Instead of the usual smooth zig zag upon her descent, she had to literally waddle her way out of some stone and mounds of dirt jutting out from the cruel earth, only to have a harder time getting down since she lacked the speedy momentum for a smooth glide to the bottom.

Crouching low to avoid being seen was another factor that hindered her plans. Honestly, she'd rather squat with knees wide apart than squish her belly to succeed virtual invisibility. As she clumsily waded through tall grass to wait for an intruder, she suddenly felt like peeing.

She was annoyed with herself, and to make matters worse, she felt hungry.

With a groan, she carefully helped herself down so that she didn't make any noise—_squilch_!

_Curse Rice Country and their never ending mud_, she thought.

Moving on, she decided to reach for her scroll that managed to roll out of her—or Gaara's cloak's pocket—only to freeze when a burst of warmth shot through her shorts. Oh God—she didn't… did she?

She screwed her eyes shut as she cursed in mortification.

She wet herself… as in _realllly wet_ herself—thankfully it wasn't her water that burst, but seriously… peeing in her shorts wasn't something she wasn't thankful for either.

She sighed helplessly before she grabbed that stupid scroll that pushed her '_pee now_' button. She unraveled it, too angry and too distracted to notice how much her scroll boisterously rustled into the deadly silent night due to the magnitude of her temper. After summoning out a bento box and a pair of chopsticks, she opened her meal, releasing the delightful aroma into the night as she wolfed down on it…

"Good Evening," a raspy voice called out

A kunai immediately whizzed into the air before bony fingers caught it with ease after a sidestep. An unpleasant chuckle reverberated a few yards behind Sakura, who now began ridiculously scrambling to her feet as she drew her defenses up. By her feet, lay her scattered utensils that more or less shamed her state than it already did.

"My, my," mused the shadow figure, as he began twirling her kunai frivolous around his finger "what do we have here? A _pregnant_ ninja? How… amusing…"

She was definitely in no mood for this right now. Somehow, he made her feel stupid. Why on earth was a pregnant lady out in the open after a war? Why on earth was a _ninja_ vulnerable out in the open? And why, in the name of all things logical, wasn't she at home or in the hospital, resting before her day of delivery?

A tiny shift made her mud-tainted-pee-stained shorts feel uncomfortable against her skin. Utterly pissed (no pun intended) and seriously unnerved, she hastily whipped out a kunai and flung it at the ninja again, only to have her throw easily deflected by her own weapon.

He clicked his tongue and shook his hooded head while wagging a bony finger at her. "You shouldn't be playing with these things, young miss, for you might harm your child… you must be due in a few days or so…" he began circling around her with a safe distance; not too far to scrutinize and not too near for physical harm.

"Perhaps, you'd like to stay over in our place when you are due—"

"No thank you," she grounded out, turning around and standing her ground, "I'm actually going—"

"But it's dangerous out there," interrupted the eerie man, he began approaching her with careful steps, "please, come with—"

"_Don't_" shrieked Sakura, before lowering her voice, "come any closer"

The man stood there and clasped his hands together, "pink hair, green eyes… and my… what a _lovely_ coat"

She narrowed her eyes, not liking every tone he wove into his words. From the way he intoned, it seemed as if he was refreshing his mind from a bounty he read off somewhere, or possibly the fact that she might be of great value to hold onto… hopefully it wasn't the former. Or maybe the latter—darn it, let none of her pessimistic choices be heard aloud.

"It looks _very_ royal… perhaps it belonged to someone very… _wealthy_…" crooned the man a thin crooked nose poked out of his hood's shadow before it ducked back in. "My, you must be very… precious, in a way that you can't be harmed" he quickly added.

She began drawing out her scenario. Fighting this man was very risky. She wasn't in her top condition right now, because of this… child, she needed distance when in combat as of now… but as far as she knew, she was all about _close_ distance. So was at disadvantage there.

Perhaps she could try running away… which was very ridiculous. He was right, she was _huge_. She was probably due in a few days or so as he just said and running would make matters worse for her… Seriously, have you seen a nine-month pregnant lady joining any hundred meter dash?

She shook her thoughts, she needed to think right now… not convince.

Sakura knew, with all her maternal and ninja instinct that going with this stranger promised nothing more but danger to her part and her child's. So what _can _ she do?

"Come with me and I shall… watch over you,"

She could feel the malevolent grin the man was wearing right now. He raised a bony hand and snapped his fingers before three more presences appeared in the picture, one to her left, another to her right and the last behind her.

Cornered.

She was cornered.

"We promise to take good care of you…" the man paused for a thoughtful moment before he leered through his hood, "and maybe, you'll return to good hands for a handsome price…"

_Kidnap_, panicked Sakura. _I'm being kidnapped!_

The horrid thought of giving birth in captivity was more than enough to make her drive her into the road of desperation. No longer in the right state of mind, she unconsciously began gambling her chances and released a surge of chakra to her fist the moment it touched the ground. The whole earth around her shook, as it bore deep crevices that marked the flat terrain into a bowl-like crater before she felt her energy slipping past her hand as it poured into the nothingness of the damp soil.

_Damn_. She inwardly cursed as her head began mirthfully dancing in and out of consciousness, her vision lightened then darkened and played between the contrasting colors as angry spots blotched the rim of her vision and ruined her focus. She felt her veins throb under her skin—wait…

She can't possibly faint now…

She managed to subconsciously shift her body as she began approaching the floor so that her back hit the ground instead. She felt the impact shake her system and felt her tummy bubble with the force, like the way water shook in a balloon. She swallowed and hyperventilated, trying to gather as much oxygen as she needed to try and escape these men…

She felt the dull harsh grip enclose her arms and the tranquil tug of slumber stretch across her mind.

She can't faint now…

She _can't _faint now…

She promised Gaara, she promised herself, and by all means she promised her baby that they'll all be fine…

She can't possibly faint now…

She… just… can't…

Her eyes began sliding shut, a knot tied in her brows as she felt hope slipping idly past the tips of her fingers like water. And then, by the curse of one's twisted fate, she fell limp.

_Dammit, Gaara… Where are you…_

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**A/N: **At long last!! It's finally over!!!

What do you guys think?!?!?!!?

By the way, I took in **leogirl321** sweet suggestion and went for it… but then stopped, because I had no idea where to throw that intriguing scene in.. so I decided to play around and ta-da!! This was what I got… well… I hope I didn't upset you leogirl… sorry that I wasn't able to do as you planned…

=_=;;;

But anways… because of her idea and the mesh with mine, I managed to kick up another intense ending that will lead to another wave of shocking installation which I hope will come out as greatly as expected…

Anways, I am aware that for the past stories I made, I never really got the hang of finishing them… because I honestly get a writer's block. Frankly, I nearly abandoned this had it not been for the awesome save of leogirl! Seriously, I should say you're my saviour!!

Thankeez!!

So guys, please bear with me so that I may get the nerve of finishing this piece. Please tell me what you think, or may suggest, that way, we can add a bit more color to Out Of The Blue~

Thank you for your time, and please do review~


	12. The Hunt

**Chapter Twelve**

Responsibility was a word that became a thin border of what he believed was morally right and logically correct.

Morality and Logic were two very different words that can either accommodate the other or completely oppose it.

Apparently, in his situation, he didn't even know which events should be categorized in such words.

If he were to detach from his body and look at himself, he'd call this Gaara a selfish, stubborn fool who was abandoning his duty in its greatest peak that will heavily depend on his actions to secure the outcome. If he considered such biased awareness, he may consider himself unfit to bear the Kazekage mantle...

But Gaara had always been a man of reason.

Perhaps he can call his current action "_Morally right_" rather than "_Logically correct_", since he adorned himself with the cloak of a lover's concern rather than take on the mantle of Sand's Kazekage.

"Quickly," whispered Naruto, strapping on the pristine said coat before tilting the hat a little lower to shadow his face. His grin shined brightly as he sat on his office chair, "I'll cover ya as planned"

Gaara couldn't help but smirk, rather touched by what Naruto was doing for him. He knew that his actions were risky and are about to go beyond the books written out for both Sand and Leaf. But what can he say? Perhaps jinchuurikis are really meant to stray from normal society; free from the chains of law.

He crouched on the open windowsill; the cool evening breeze caressed his burgundy locks. He knew he was about to commit treason and drag Naruto into it...

He looked beyond his village walls and felt the prominent urge to depart soon, but held back and timed the movements of his shinobi sentinel before diving low, stopping on a narrow rooftop with ease.

Sand trickled from his gourd upon landing, but dismissed it as he began cruising through the roofs with unnatural silence. He reached a tight corner in the alleys, aware that Sand's fort is heavily guarded by more of his men. A presence that sets foot along the walls would trigger the alarm of a departing or arriving person.

He wasn't _just_ getting out... He was _sneaking_ his way out.

His feet touched the empty grounds of the rather dry alley. Sending a pinprick of his chakra, it seeped through the tough, compact soil before he began ushering the matter to become as fine as sand. Moments later, he began sinking into the ground.

After a full submersion, he hardened its surface before he let a discreet aura of his chakra to stretch out before him, turning tough soil to become as idle as water with manipulated sand particles gathering from behind.

After successfully transferring chakra and manipulating more sand, he was smoothly gliding under the ground covering several yards until he can feel the faint disconnection from his village.

Now, using chakra and the sand around him, he lifted himself out, sand smoothly showered away from his body. He stood straight with arms folded as he glanced behind him; his village was no longer in sight but the blanket of golden granules lying in the open with dunes in the distance to taunt him of his underlying journey.

He wasn't afraid, though.

This was where he came from and he knew his bearings well. From where he stood, he turned to the east, where Sound was, or formerly known as Rice Country.

It would take him three days to walk there, a day and a half on full speed and just a day to go for the breakneck sprint... But only an hour if he used sand. His hands stretched out, supine to the floor as the ground shook with trembling sand complying to wish.

His element rose beneath him, lifting him high into the night sky like water would on a spring fountain. Then fully concentrating on the massive chakra hold, he lunged forth with his left foot out like he would when he'd sprint. It was a magnificent sight to behold as he cruised across the desert, he looked as if he glided across water. With each stride, sand would form a wave-like torrent as massive cloud dust wallowed behind him, causing a miniature sand storm.

It took about twenty heaving strides before he felt sand lessen as it grew shallower from beneath the ground, thus, he began decelerating. After a few more strides, he stepped foot on muddy grass land and the harsh whip of the wind that struck his face before calming down.

_Sound_, the thought to himself, _or better yet, Rice Country_.

He has arrived.

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Clear nail polished fingers drummed against the polished wooden table.

She leaned back and distantly gazed at the scattered pile of paper before her with a pen atop it, waiting for her signature. She sat on one end of the long table, and much to her dismay, the seat on the other end was empty.

"Where's the Kazekage?" she asked, eyes drifted to her left hand side where the elders of Sand's council sat before she gazed at her batch of buffoons who sat on her right.

"It would be wise to sign the papers--"

"When he's present," Tsunade cut in, she rolled her eyes at one of her council members before she folded her arms across her opulent chest. Hazel eyes carefully sweeped the vast table with a clean pile of papers on the other end, still left untouched.

"What's taking him so long?" she muttered before beckoning Shizune.

The young brunette obliged before whispering into her ear, "he has escaped, Sai and Sasuke left to find him, Naruto--"

The blonde held her hand up, before she used it to conceal a smile threatening to break from her visage. What the Kazekage did was very risky, but... She would let him slide just this once.

After the council rejected her request to enforce a search party for Sakura, she believed that Gaara may be her only hope of getting her precious student back.

She sighed and readjusted herself. In order to side with Gaara at this very moment, she must use all her wits to conjure a very inconspicuous procrastination. All eyes attentively watched her as a sly smirk gently settled atop intertwined fingers.

"Who's up for a game of cards?"

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A warm current washed her tingling nerves away from its cold numbness. The rush of her senses grew steadily apprehensible as she could feel herself stir at that very moment.

Muffled voices throbbed against her ear. She tried to move her head but only decided against it after feeling an uncomfortable maelstrom of nausea overwhelm her.

The voices however, gradually leaned towards clarity with each breath she took. From there, all her senses began to cognize her surrounding. Her back lay damp against the cold, uneven ground, causing an uncomfortable ache on the base of her spine.

Her wrists and ankles also began stinging in pain from what seemed to be like coarse ropes keeping binding them to something that kept her limbs spread out. She experimentally lifted her hand, but she didn't even budge. Perhaps a little chakra could help her out.

But as common sense settled in, she also decided not to go for that plan, since her normal monstrous strength might lead her to another swooning episode. She wouldn't want to wake up to even more constrained bindings after that.

Instead, she'll try to rejuvenate her chakra reserves as stealthily as she could so that she wouldn't alarm the others that she has awakened. She decided to open her eyes, but alas, darkness greeted her. It was only then she realized that she had been tightly blindfolded, which now explained her throbbing headache.

She lay limp when she heard the sonorous clatter of metal and rust and the foot falls of people as they entered the room... So to speak.

A cackle broke the silence; thankfully she was well collected even if it did startle her.

"I can't believe our plan worked," a raspy voice croaked

"Of course it did, our bait just happened to catch fish bigger than the last," commented a deep bass voice that reverberated everything that binded Sakura.

"... What do you mean?" asked the croaky one

A sigh escaped, "would you like a full explanation for that? Never mind, I am honored and utterly pleased to explain it to you again, my dear incompetent comrade...

"As you see, Konoha was in financial crisis at the moment, losing almost its power when Akatsuki destroyed the village. Since then, Sand has been funding them, leaving them indebted to their allying village. Now, of course no village wants to be indebted to another, which is why Leaf has been dispatching shinobis to high paying missions. Apparently, an expensive mission has been sent to Leaf from Sand. I knew its contents long ago--"

"What does it have to do with--"

"Let me finish!" Spat the man, "In that mission, it gave away the fact that the Kazekage was now obliged to impregnate any female--"

"I don't see the significance there, boss," the croaky voice cut in, yet again

With a despaired sigh, the other man carried on, "I was after the woman the Kazekage impregnates--"

"Why?"

The sound of a weapon being drawn out echoed distinctively in the room, "Interrupting me will cost you your life very soon unless you tame that rude mouth of yours, Chobuu,"

"Y-yes sir,"

The sound of what seemed like a sword was tucked away, "well, if the woman becomes very delicate, just weeks away from delivery and a war breaks out, how do you think the Kazekage would react? He would more or less prioritize his child first..."

Unnerving silence drifted about

"He's not just any Kazekage, he's Gaara... A man who's trying to become better. And how does he try to be better? He'll make up for the things he didn't grasp in his childhood. Please do ask me, Chobuu"

With an audible gulp, he answered, "How does he make up for it?"

"He'll protect his loved ones… Brilliant I know, now that we've given Leaf and Sand a shock, Gaara should be on his way now. Speaking of which, are the men out on muddy grounds now?"

"Yes sir," confirmed Chobuu

"Anyway, once we have the Kazekage, we will use this foolish girl as means of trading. His village for his family"

A pause.

All this had been a plan all along? From the very moment she got there, she had been in a plan?

…

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_Mud_, Gaara noticed, _it's everywhere_.

He took another step high into the hillock. Since he wasn't sure where she was as of this moment, he might as well familiarize himself with the land beforehand. After taking the dangerous detour where the thin line of no man's land was--between Fire country, Rain, Grass and Stone-- he managed to arrive without detection.

The moment he reached the top, he strode carefully towards the edge as he took in the meticulous plains where blotches of lights scattered under the faint evening sky. From afar, his gaze studiously scanned the area as he slowly drew his eyes back until he noticed a strange path carved out on the steep slope before him.

Using his sand, he stood atop its aloft mass and gradually descended from the hill as he scrutinized the strange engravement. It was a rugged glide down that was constantly interrupted according to the interpretation caused by the strange pattern of foot prints before this person's descent down grew rougher. From the depth of the engravement, it seemed to be carrying something heavy.

The path led him to a disturbed patch of tall grass and a messy clutter of a half-empty bento box. Gaara stepped off his floating sand; it retreated to his gourd as he examined the food.

Banana... Smeared in curry, he rose to his full height as confidently muttered, "Sakura."

He continued studying the surrounding, thanks to the mud, more foot prints appeared, at least four pairs more that entrapped Sakura to one spot. According to two kunais stabbed nearby to the ground, there was an attempted fight but because of the lack of terrain distortion, the fight didn't last too long.

The moment he turned around, he had to snag that thought back the moment a deep seated crater greeted him. And from where he stood, this must be the exact spot where that blow had landed.

This was, no doubt, the work of Sakura's monstrous strength. He stepped out of the center and noticed the way the foot prints trailed off northeast from where he stood before abruptly disappearing into a massive flock of tall grasses occupying most of the land.

The humid touch of the chilly wind harbored an unpleasant feel that moment. A hiss sliced through the air before his sand idly laid out a dense wall to his right before his sand nullified the throw. The kunai fell to the ground with a _slosh_.

Several more kunais flew to him, all in which had been blocked by his sand. Did they intend to fight at long range? Then so be it, their weapons will be useless since there'll be no way that it'll get past his sand.

"Ah... So the Kazekage decided to come out and play," a raspy voice croaked

Gaara stood there unfazed with his arms coolly folded across his chest with eyes looking right at him despite the darkness and the tall grass. He was unsure what the man wanted, but from the way he spoke, he must know something, and he had an inkling feeling that they both might as well engage in formal conversation to get down to whatever business the enemy wishes... He has to be careful now, though.

"Looking for your precious flower, I s'pose" said the man

Gaara dare not speak. Indeed, he was looking for her. He suspected right, but now what did they want from him? Did they use Sakura as bait? Or did they simply manage to find her in this place and decided to take her as captive. He was internally enraged. He couldn't imagine what they did to her or are doing now.

"Land a finger on her hair and you'll immediately die," threatened Gaara, which he realized wasn't the smartest thing to do but it was too late now.

He watched the grass twitch and sway as a man emerged from them. A square-jawed man emerged with a tall lanky body and a horrible slouch set on his back. It was the kind that was far too rugged for Kakshi's lazy stoop.

Large, bulging eyes hungrily eyed him as his bony hands drew up and clasp unto another as if he were some comical mad scientist. The last thing the strange man needed to do now was throw his head back to release a manic laughter. On his head was the Stone symbol tattooed on its shiny baldness.

He was the enemy... And the enemy has Sakura.

"Though I may have held her in order to bring her to our hideout, you'd need me alive to get to her." mangled, yellow teeth flashed before him when he smiled

Gaara remained calm. He can't let his fury get the better of him now. If only they were in Sand, he can use as much of it to kill them all and their filthy deeds. But now, he has to bargain with this man and try to outwit him so that he may return quickly back to the village with a safe Sakura in tow.

"Then what do you offer aside from an untouched female that I seek?" asked Gaara

The man's smile grew more sinister, as he drew out a talisman that read 'Seal' in kanji. "You'll first have to wear this,"

Gaara fell dubious at once, aware that he cannot let himself fall dubious in their hands. In the enemy's hands. They came fresh from victory for crying out loud...

But he'd need to if he wanted to find Sakura.

...

"What do you plan?"

"That once you wear this, we may take you to her,"

"And then?"

"We have a small discussion with our leader..."

Gaara stood his ground, "tell him to meet me here instead of going to him"

In the world of shinobis, deception had always been lurking around the corner. Gaara already expected foul play the moment he stepped into Sound... Or Rice Country, and knew that he was more at disadvantage. This time, he was no longer risking his position as Kazekage, but also the trust of Lead and the life of the woman he came to love—what?

He shook that thought off almost immediately. He was just here to save Sakura… a person rather close to him… and nothing beyond that line he set towards everyone else…

The man frowned conspicuously, "I'm afraid I had been ordered to return with you in these..."

"And if I don't?" he dared ask

A malicious grin befell on the wretched man's face, "your poor girl will take the toll,"

Much to his dismay, he unfolded his arms and half heartedly stretched them forth.

"Just don't hurt her," he said, _pathetic_, the thought inwardly… but then again, it was exactly as he wished he'd let them do… did that make sense? Never mind, he needed to think quickly now…

"Oh and the gourd," added the man, freezing halfway towards him, "it has to go"

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"With people like you, I barely have to take matters at hand," snickered the man who continued pestering her tired mind from such an agonizingly close distance.

Sakura snapped, broke free and swung her fist at the man who nearly received a skull shattering blow had he not leaped away in time.

"Now, now," began the man as he watched Sakura yanking her limbs out from restrain, "you wouldn't want to pressure the child again now, would you?"

Sakura ripped the blindfold off her face and saw a hooded man with a distinct crooked nose jutting awkwardly off his ugly features. She carefully hopped down from the strange metal bed and steadied herself on weakened legs.

_Not good_, she thought as she tried her best to conceal any weakness.

"I promise you no harm as long as long as you cause no more trouble," the man cautiously approached her, hands reaching out when she slightly staggered.

Screw concealing weakness! She needed to tame it, control it and fight it back. She can't afford to be vulnerable before the enemy. That adrenaline rush managed to drain an unnecessary amount from her reserves, and so here she was leaning heavily against the metal bed.

The man straightened and turned his head to the door, a malicious grin glinted in the light, "Kazekage-sama in the flesh..."

Sakura didn't have to think twice about what he said, her head whipped towards the door as it clanged noisily before rustily swinging on its hinges. Her heart dropped ten feet below when he fell face first on the dirtied floor with his hands behind his back.

The highly dignified Kazekage was on the floor, dirtied and disgraced before her... And he was all this because of her. Tears rimmed her eyes as rivulets of distraught stung her cheeks.

"Gaara!" she choked, lunging towards him only to have a firm grip on each arm to stop her.

The sand wielder's head lolled as he slowly got up to his feet, helping himself up with one knee at a time. He slightly swayed, struggling to find his balance with constant cringing to reveal the difficulty he had to face with.

He watched Sakura feebly struggle against the enemy's hold and whimper to have the same talismans that read 'Seal' plastered to each arm. Her harsh tug from the henchmen's grip fell to feeble shifts until her legs buckled and the men caught her from further harming herself.

Enraged, Gaara surged forward only to have a sharp prod behind his knees to have him fall to the ground. He grunted in fury and began breathing heavily, then spine-chillingly, he roared, "_What did you do to her_?!"

The hooded man had finished praising his ugly subordinate before fully acknowledging the Kazekage in his pitiful state. Oh how he loved to see a great man on his knees before him. Haughtily, he strode up to him, sat on his haunches and pulled red locks of hair to forcefully lock eyes with Gaara's venomous ones.

"Surrender your village to us, give me your mantle and we'll set you both free,"

Gaara's gaze hardened and didn't speak. The man's eyes widened with fury, banging Gaara's head harshly against the ground before he held him back up, a fresh crack streaked across his forehead down to his left cheek.

Sakura screamed in dismay from the background, struggling to fight against the internal restraints caused by the tags. They were now strapping her down the metal bed yet again. Her head thrashed around as she began to desperately bite at anybody that tried to get close to her.

This was all her fault, a strangled sob escaped her. Gaara's like this now, and it was all her fault! She can't bring herself to forgive her _own_ self. She lay back and screwed her eyes shut, fully loathing her despicable _fucking_ actions. Gaara, the Kazekage of the magnificent Sand, deserved a woman far better than this wretched kunoichi who never even came from a noble clan.

The man chuckled repulsively, "I'm sorry for my sudden act, but please do consider before I decide to let your precious lady take all the punishment in your stead"

Gaara's dazed eyes snapped back to life, boring down into the man. Even if he was without his gourd or was now at his mercy, there was something cold in his eyes that made the man shrink back in greater fear even if he was at an advantage.

"Touch her," Gaara growled, "and you die"

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Two shadowed blurs darted left and right as they watched the crashing waves of sand a hundred yards away rise and fall before them in a dangerously beautiful manner that matched the ocean's deadly dance. Painful showers of granules sprayed towards them and probably pierced through flesh if they didn't cast their chakra to coat their skin.

The paler of the two dove and rose, darting into patterns that carried less turbulent winds that promised flesh tearing drafts. The tallest, on the other hand slithered gracefully in a pattern that moved with the wind so that he wouldn't get in as much pain.

What seemed like difficult hours of tacking down eased up as they raced through the sea of sand in the icy desert. Swift strides began making up for lost time as both quick ninjas speeded with breakneck acceleration that caused their surrounding to bend with the air they fanned out from their bodies, like the way water would capsize against a fast-paced ship.

It took only a matter of minutes before they arrived in Sound. The two wordlessly parted, automatically in search of evidence that would lead them to their target.

"_I've got something_," a monotonous voice spoke through his ear piece. He tore away from his area and headed west from his bearing. He joined his smaller comrade atop a semi-rocky semi-grassy hill and gazed at where he looked.

Right below them was a patch of tall grass disturbed, to its right was an empty piece of land that stretched a hundred yards in diameter smoothly dented to the ground with massive crevices spider webbing away from the center where a beige gourd haphazardly lay with a pool of sand lying beneath its opening.

Two pairs of onyx eyes exchanged glances before the taller of the two leaped down and slung the gourd to his back with his comrade scooping handfuls and attempted to return them to its container.

"Don't do that," interrupted the tall man, "that sand is damp, it's as good as useless,"

The smaller of the two simply nodded, "hurry, we've got to find them soon,"

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They harshly sat him down on a ruined seat.

Before him was an old rickety table that had a few cracks every now and then, with its poor quality marred by unjust scratches from here and there; he was in a dark hall with torches feebly dancing in their brackets against the far walls.

The hooded man took a seat before him, crossed his legs and intertwined his fingers around his knee with a sordid grin settling on his shadowed face.

Gaara continued scowling at him before giving a once over on the piece of paper. Its contents ran a professional statement that he wishes to surrender his village and the mantle to the enemy named Homuda.

"Here is the ticket to both of your freedom,"

When Gaara still didn't move, he snapped his fingers. Light poured into the dark hall from behind Gaara the moment doors burst open and accompanied the blaring noise caused by Sakura.

"Let me go!" she demanded hotly. Light scalded her eyes, throwing in white motley of a blur that momentarily blinded her. She whipped her head to the side, eyes screwed shut as she forced herself to adjust to the rude brightness now that they ripped the blindfold away.

Gaara's eye flicked to its far right corner catching a glimpse of Sakura tied to a seat with two henchmen lifting it as they dropped her a few meters before him.

She was blindfolded and heavily tied to a wooden chair leaving her tummy unbound as it bulged proudly before him. Had it not been for the sealing tag plastered on to them, they believe that they could take these despicable men with his hands behind his back.

She hyperventilated the moment her vision began swimming back. Through an aura of bright light, the silhouette of a man sitting behind a desk came to view. She narrowed her eyes, until finally she understood what was happening. Now she understood what they had been talking about. Her eyes widened as they locked with Gaara's.

Seeing Sakura right now muddled his mind.

The man named Homuda took a pen from his pocket and carefully placed it adjacent to the contract. After vehemently stabbing the man with a spiteful glare, Gaara began trading glances between the bickering kunoichi whom he had unreasonably fallen for and the contract that brought with it an impending doom to his kingdom.

Between the two, what was now important? But either way, if he ever thought of refusing to sign it, he knew they would kill her before him, but if he signed it, he might as well kill himself for it. He couldn't imagine what would happen when he simply gave in...

Her eyes, now fully recovered, widened as she screamed her protest, "Gaara whatever happens don't do it!"

A scream rolled off her lips when she felt a deep scratch slide against her right thigh. Much to her horror a twisted man was raking his kunai against her skin--

"Enough!!" roared Gaara, fist pounding heavily on the desk when he rose. His voice rang in her ear as it sharply echoed in the vast hall. Homuda was first amused by his expression before he slightly faltered in fear, he raised his hand to stop his henchman who pulled away and tucked his weapon into his pouch. Almost immediately, Gaara sank back to the seat.

His heart clenched in pain, eyeing the contract once more. There must be another way from all this...

...

……….

Hesitantly, he reached for the pen, Homuda's eyes lit up as the quill-tipped pen touched the smooth paper before it slid against its vacant space, ink slowly wove into characters that read his name.

_Gaara _

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**A/N: **Ta-da!! Wahahaha, a little treat coz I was suddenly in the zone again and was rather impressed by the speedy reviews you guys gave~

Rather impressed… now keep it up if you want a more speeded update!

Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review!

Phew~

Thankeez~~


	13. Out of the Wrong Turn

**A/N: **I know by now that the sudden long pause was very disappointing and very unnerving. But some inevitable things came up and I really had to attend to them first, I sincerely apologize for the massive delay, but on the upside, I've already finished the fourteenth chapter.

So please read away, review as soon as finished and then I shall post up the next chap either tomorrow night or the fortnight or sometime around this week…

Either way, I promise to make up for that long pause from chapter thirteen after making a promise to update much more quickly the sooner and the more you guys review, anyway, here is the thirteenth chapter.

Hope you guys enjoy~

**Chapter Thirteen**

Gaara.

Ink blotted at every joint and the sodden ink smudged against his hand as he set the pen down begrudgingly. Eyes drifted to the distant air of nothingness, though it had entered his mind that they had begun setting her free.

She began swinging her fists randomly and tried standing only to slump back into her seat. Homuda snatched the document from his hand and tucked it away in his trench coat as he began striding to the exit.

The door slammed shut leaving them both in the dark. The sound of heavy booted foot falls crunched down the corridor in massive distinction before eventually fading away to another wave of silence.

"G-Gaara?" hollered Sakura, cracking the everlasting pause…

No response.

She tried lifting herself and managed to get on her feet. Forcing her eyes to adjust in the dark, she stretched her hands out, preferring to do this than rely on chakra; she found it too risky.

Finally, she felt a flat surface under her palm; quickly she walked around it until her knee bumped into something. Her hand flew there, only to have soft threads weave in between her fingers.

She grabbed his head and pressed him to her bosom, "Gaara?"

Two hands snaked around her thickened waist as he subconsciously returned the hug.

"You idiot, why'd you sign it" she hiccoughed feebly as she buried her face into his head, breathing in his scent. "I'm so sorry..."

No response.

She lifted her head, with her eyes fully readjusted in the dark, she looked at him in the face and found him glassy eyed. Her heart broke, "please say something..."

Slowly, he looked at her and then spoke with a heartbreaking tone, "What did you just make me do?"

Her brows furrowed as her eyes widened, "please don't tell me you signed it..."

He looked at her with insane diffidence, "you want me to lie to you?"

"W-why?" she sobbed quietly

"Because you're an idiot" a voice echoed from the distance.

Her head shot up and whipped around. Much to her surprise, the voice sounded far too familiar.

"G-Gaara?"

It wasn't long before dry granules began pouring through her hands. She looked down before pulling away in astonishment, what she once held tightly against her chest was now the old man who took her in as captive. His bulging eyes fixated an empty gaze past her.

Strong hands gripped her arms and tore the talisman away. She felt her surge of chakra return to her cold limbs; she turned and let herself sink to comfortable warmth as she wailed against his chest.

Awkwardly, he held her head while the other hand stiffly patted her back, innocently new to such action.

"H-how did you--?"

Gaara smirked as he began recollecting his fresh memory as he shared it with her.

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"Oh and the gourd? It has to go"

Gaara ran a hand up his chest and stopped at a buckle. With a click, his gourd fell to the ground with a muffled thud. Bearing a calculative gaze, he offered his harmless hands. Nonchalantly, the foolish man strode towards him and grabbed his wrists.

Sand poured out from his gourd and enveloped him and morphed his features into his while Gaara, too changed his to the bald one's. With a swift readjustment, they exchanged their positions, and now Gaara was putting the talisman on his false self. And all that happened in under a split second.

Gaara foolishly smirked, imitating the role of the baldy, using his sand he controlled his captive.

"You'll never get away with this,"

He experimentally manipulated his vocal cords with chakra and moved the enemy's lips using his hard cased sand. A malicious glint lit up in Gaara's eyes before he turned his back on his captive's.

He experimentally snapped his fingers and three men appeared before him. Victory danced about in his mind as he continued manipulating every other soul around him with ease.

_This_, he reminded himself, _is why I am Kazekage of the sand--_

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His words clogged in his throat when his lips were pressed shut with another delicate pair from Sakura. His eyes shot wide open and shuddered when a duo of slender arms wrapped around his neck and a distinct bulge pressed against his tummy.

Even if his vision was cut short by their intimate distance, he didn't need any more confirmation but the feel of her well pressed against his. He sighed and his eyes slowly slid shut, succumbing to his long awaited bliss.

He had to admit that he finally managed to have her safe in his arms. He saved her and no one else did... And if he was given the chance to let a moment to last longer... He'd very much like this exact moment to be it.

Mesmerized by his elation, he slanted his head and stooped lower, tongue bolting past his lips only to taste the cold air. His eyes shot open in surprise at the sudden absence of her saccharine mouth.

"But what was it that you signed?" asked Sakura

He withdrew his tongue and pulled away from Sakura. He clicked his tongue, and headed for the door with Sakura in tow. Everything had been an act up to this moment--save for his signature.

Perhaps, yes, he had been cut short with options back then. Since he did leave his gourd several yards away from here, he knew better than to jump in and save Sakura without having any sand even if he did have weapons with him. He and his sand were like Sasuke with his Sharingan, Neji with his Byakugan and Kakashi with his Icha book.

"It's a contract which I agreed to surrender my village and me title," explained Gaara, growing mortified by the second with each word that formed and rolled off his tongue. It was the horrific realization of truths that yanked his hopes down and threw his heart down into the darkest depths of hell, to burn him with guilt and fear that everything he had worked for and held dear—save for Sakura—was just going down in ruins.

He heaved his shattered sentiments off the suffocating grip of his conscience and grabbed Sakura's wrist as he hastily ambled closer towards the massive doors with lengthy strides. Barely managing to keep up, she constantly stumbled, struggling to match his pace but never whined, aware that it wasn't exactly the right time to do so.

Peering over his shoulder, "I have to stop them, find a safe place to hide, and never come out unless I call you."

"Wait, if my captor and your victim is the same man who is dead in the hall behind us, then who's with the hooded Homuda guy?"

Gaara smirked, gloating at that very moment. "This is why I'm Kazekage,"

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Homuda quickly strode out of the building with Chobuu close by. A group of his men formed a formidable ring as they exited the rundown building and entered the derelict town.

"Chobuu, prepare my finest armory and weaponry for we will leave as soon as we have everything with us"

"Yes sir..." Chobuu bobbed his head as they continued walking, "if I may suggest sir, should I also handle the document so that I may file it away for safekeeping"

Homuda shook his head, "nonsense, I wouldn't want your foolish hand to hold this"

_CLANG!_

After a flash of twin sliver of light in midair illuminated, two blades locked as a sonorous note filled the air. The impact threw off a wave of wind to ripple away from the source as the surrounding men jumped slightly with kunais ready in their hands. Chobuu gripped his with a firm hold while fixating a worried gaze on his master.

"Sir, what are you doing?"

Homuda narrowed his eyes, "I should have figured it long ago,"

The henge dropped revealing a smirking Sasuke with his sharingan flashing keenly in both eyes. The man pulled away and so did the Uchiha heir, both throwing a generous distance between the other.

"Give it up old man," spoke the lone Uchiha, "you're surrounded"

The hooded man's eyes darted around him, not wanting to believe his words. He knew the Sharingan user's reputation quite well and never expected this part of his package of surprises.

"Men, attack!"

All men sprang towards the hooded man. Nervously, he leapt away before his flesh met their sharpened blades, throwing an explosive tag and watched his men fall with flames eating away their limp bodies. The bastard must have already killed them all prior to manipulating their corpses… or had bent them all to his will—either way, he lost just almost a handful of his best men.

His eyes widened before he spun in mid-air, just in time to block the kick aiming for his side. Sasuke carried on with a barrage of swift slices and flurries of kicks before he kicked off from the ground with hands laying down a set of seals imitating every move Homuda did.

Serpents began shooting out of both parties' sleeves with each opposing heads biting into the other. The two danced away before locking yet again, serpent heads shooting from here to there as either one tried gaining an upper hand.

Sasuke leaped away from a tree and drew his sword out just in time to block Homuda's equally long one with another sonorous note. Snakes darted towards the Uchiha's vital points had it not been for his own flock of snakes that defended him.

Homuda leaped away just in time, with his feet firmly planted on the ground, forcibly holding in his huffs. Sasuke elegantly landed on a rickety metal roof with his sword drawn to the side and calm eyes boring down to the hooded man.

"From the way I've studied your movements, you must have been under Orochimaru's wing"

Homuda began chuckling maniacally and shook his head, "and you must be his murderer..."

Sasuke sighed, uninterested, "if so, then surrender now, else I'd be forced to kill another one of his worms"

Homuda drew his sword higher, "I think I remember why I'm doing this all over again"

Sasuke clicked his tongue and haughtily planted his free hand on his hip, "please don't tell me you're avenging that worthless piece of--"

_CLANG!_ He easily blocked another blow without any struggle. Sasuke effortlessly evaded another strike coming from his left when he spun on to his left, moving with the flow before the tip of his blade prickled Homuda's skin.

In under a split second, Sasuke situated himself behind the pathetic man with his sword directly pressed against the back of Homuda's neck. The man swallowed and utterly froze, obviously unsure with his next move.

With ease, Sasuke pressed a little deeper. The sharpened blade threatened to breakthrough the man's delicate skin. "I can easily end your life here... Unless you give me the document. If you do that, we can properly settle our business on field."

With shaky hands Homuda drew out a rolled piece of scroll and tossed it to the Uchiha from behind. He caught it with one hand but never lowered his guard. He unrolled the scroll and in the middle was a kanji that read--

_BOOM!!_

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An uncanny pop wedged through the quiet evening, catching both Gaara's and Sakura's attention.

"What was that?" she whispered

"Just stay here."

"I said I won't," argued Sakura

Gaara clicked his tongue, rather apprehensive with what the evening may bring. He hoped that if they are to deal with Homuda, they'd do it with caution since he, as Gaara had observed, relied on deception every chance he received.

"Fine." Gaara leaned against the mossy wall with folded arms

"What are you doing?" she hissed

"Waiting." he answered

"For who?"

"He should be here any minute now."

"Who is?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting,"

She blinked as silence crept over her with the grip of incredibility clutching at her throat. She swallowed and watched Gaara swing his weight of the wall, walking past her.

"That isn't how you greet friends" mused Gaara, reminding Sakura as he began buckling his gourd on upon receiving it.

Slowly Sakura turned around only to grin stupidly, waddling her way past Gaara to give her pale obnoxious friend a bear hug, "Sai!"

"Respond to the hug and I'll kill you," warned Gaara, glaring at Sai with a magnanimous threat

Sakura shot him a reprimanding look before smiling yet again, "what are you doing here?"

"Dont worry, I don't find this cow very attractive in the first place"

"Calm down Sakura," Gaara held a firm grip on the wrist that planned to bash Sai's skull to the ground, "we can't afford carrying an unconscious cow through this dangerous village. And we need him alive if you'd want to get us all out of here"

She shot Gaara a helpless glare before he released her.

"Hurry, from the sound of it, I don't think Sasuke-sempai us doing too well"

"Sasuke's here?"

Sai looked at Gaara with curious vigor before the redhead nodded slightly. Gaara was the first to turn his back on them, planning to implant his revenge well on such despicable man.

No one treats him and Sakura like dirt and gets away with it. He darted past rooftops and aimed for that one place he knew Sasuke and Homuda were. From the way a bomb went off, he wished it so that Sasuke was in good condition--someone needs to take care of Sakura soon.

He arrived at a sooty rooftop with a scorched body in the midst of it all, foot first under all that rubble. Gaara approached the rocky brae with caution, greatly wishing that it was Homuda... Well it would be if Sasuke wasn't all high and mighty again with the enemy.

He walked around it and froze at the newfound revelation.

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"Sai, I need you to go after the target but leave the headset to Sakura,"

The artist obliged, wordlessly parting away from the route he shepherd for Sakura, immediately disappearing before she could follow or protest. Heatedly, she strapped the headset on.

"_What the _hell_ is going on_?!"

"Sakura... I understand that you have a knack for healing those you love--"

"Gaara..." she cut him off, "What's wrong? You don't sound like yourself... At all"

"Where are you?"

"I'm almost at the gate..."

"Are you walking or taking on the roofs?"

"Walking," she lied

"Well, seeing to it that you _walk_ fast, make a detour seventy two degrees to your east?" a question leaned towards an urgent, commanding tone

"Why?" She slowed down, bending her hip forward as usual as she came to a full stop.

"You'll understand when you get here..."

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"Hah!" grinned Tsunade, her utmost glee resulted in shaking the whole table, "I won!!"

Her heavy breathing evened out as all eyes gaped at her. A troubled smile wiped her enthusiastic one as she sank back to her seat. Before her was a mountain of money waiting to be owned.

"It's great Tsunade-san!" cheered Shizune, "you won!"

She narrowed her eyes, "I did..."

An earth rattling fist-pounding boom caught everyone's attention. The man who caused the commotion was Danzou...

_How the hell did he get here?_ She blinked, was he there all along? Hey... She thought only council members are to be present... He wasn't part of the council... Was he?

"Enough of this useless tomfoolery," he exclaimed, "there's war threatening to break loose and all that we could do here is play _cards_?"

"Sit down and accept your defeat," hollered Tsunade as she began raking in her money with quite a smug air.

"Why don't you just sign the goddamned documents?" exclaimed the man

"Mind your language," she sighed, "As I said, I'll only sign when he's here"

"He hasn't even arrived for the last four hours!"

"He's right!" another voice emanated from within Sand's council

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, this isn't good. She opened her mouth, ready to say something but was caught off guard when someone beckoned a pair of jounins.

She swallowed and waited impatiently when the two shinobis departed for a while only to return with a white-caped man in a white hat walking in between them. She held her breath and watched them lead the Kazekage to his seat.

Wait a minute... was that really the Kazekage or...

"Kazekage, if you please," one of the elders gestures towards the documents.

The hat slowly lifted and revealed a calm facade adorned by black-rimmed eyes, with the tattoo on his forehead and red locks peeking through the hat.

Tsunade swallowed and blinked herself back to reality. Can he really pull it off? Sure covering up for Gaara can already damage their alliance with sand, but taking in the mantle of his responsibility was another thing.

_You always wished to be Hokage_, she mused, _let this become your training then..._

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Gaara kneeled down beside a small mound of rocks where only feet were visible. Tattered clothing and scorched skin promised nothing more but dull hope.

It was a very comical sight. And this was what Sakura saw upon her arrival.

She hastily wobbled towards Gaara willing to ask a question away when proper scrutiny grabbed her by the throat. Amidst all that rubble, familiar onyx hair and their forehead protector peeked out from the untimely burial.

"W-what's this?" asked Sakura as Gaara's sand began weaving their way through the rocks to move them out of the way.

He slowly rose to his feet and planted a firm palm on her shaky shoulder. "I'm sorry..."

"S-Sasuke?" she choked, hands flew to her mouth as tears uncontrollably cascaded out of her eyes the moment the first drop came. Her strength immediately drained her legs as her knees buckled. Firm hands settled on her arms, slowing down her sudden descent to the ground.

She shrugged Gaara off and threw her cheek against Sasuke's unmoving chest, unconsciously waiting for a faint rhythm of life to throb against her ear... None.

Hands that firmly clutched his clothing instantly glowed green as life saving energy seeped into his cold skin and shroud his heart, sending waves and waves of chakra to press his chamber of stillness back to life.

For a moment her chakra would slip before it even touched his heart. She screwed her eyes shut and began digging deeper into her reserves to try to match the depth she lacked.

A split second had gone by and she managed to prick his heart with her chakra. Like thread she pushed in a little further and wove her way around his heart and lungs, throwing in that little shock until finally fresh blood squeezed out from his heart and sucked in a deoxygenated batch.

She didn't let go of this deep concentration as she continued this faint process until each beat grew more pronounced and independent... And finally, it did.

Gaara watched from the sideline all long, slightly feeling nostalgic at the sight and at the same time jealous. Would he ever experience that level of affection from Sakura?

Tightly sealed onyx eyes slowly parted and settled on a tearful Sakura. A strangled giggle escaped her grieving voice, "Sasuke?"

Her eyes and Gaara's widened when his face somewhat gave off a static effect as if he were a hologram fading away. Sakura froze in her spot when she took in purple eyes from the Uchiha and his jet black hair shrinking to short brown locks.

"W-who are you--"

"_No_!!"

The world literally seemed to have frozen at that point. The air held its breath, a falling leaf slowly halted in mid air a fish that momentarily leaped off from the water in the distance now hovered a few inches off the water with miniature rivulets freezing.

Sakura blinked and watched the surreal image of the stranger's hand stretched out towards her, while firmly gripping a hilt. Warmth began spilling to dampen her shirt just by the rib beneath her chest. She choked when she couldn't draw in a breath and liquid ran down from the corner of her mouth.

She looked down and widened her eyes at such sight. Reminiscence washed over her as her hands planted around the sword embedding into her. She smiled morbidly and gazed at the man before her, "How unoriginal"

Her hand began glowing green.

Hauled back to his senses Gaara's sand began cascading towards the man who annoyingly managed to slip away from the harsh hold. His steps faltered when he remembered Sakura and turned on his heels to focus on her instead.

She lay in a fetal position on the ground with a blade jutting out from her back. He knelt down before her, hands still glowing green as her breaths grew ragged.

"Pull it out..." she muttered, referring to the sword

"But the blood..."

She smiled, "then just save the baby..."

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_Target locked_, mused Sai.

He hastily picked up his speed. Kicking off from more trees scattered across the land, leaping high into the leafy roofs. From the constant gaps formed in the foliage he saw his hooded target quickly dart across the branches. Sai hurried by a tad bit more before he dove through twigs and leaves, kunai slipping out of dexterous hands before he landed on a branch a few yards away from his target.

The man smoothly somersaulted away as the kunai stabbed the branches where he once stood. Shurikens escaped his sleeves as he went; Sai deflected them all with his kunai before spinning to block a kick aimed to his head. The man spun again and tried to hit his open side.

Sai ducked low, hooking his leg at the man's ankles who leaped up to avoid losing balance. Sai kicked off with graceful swipes of his kunai every now and then as the man blocked each move with his own--

_CLANG_!!

The two kicked off with Sai crouching vertically against the tree's bark and the man crouching upside down from the underside of a branch. Sai narrowed his eyes when a thin, long strand of black hair swayed out of the hood. Snakes darted dead on towards him, teeth sinking into pale soft skin before a cloud poofed into existence, revealing a log in Sai's stead.

The man was driven towards the tree trunk, stomach first as the artist had pinned his arms behind his back. Sai lost his hold to avoid the snakes from biting into him for real.

He looked back to his prey but only saw empty space; he glanced up and saw the hooded man standing proudly on a higher branch.

"Please consider your actions," he hollered

"I already have," with those parting words, a maelstrom of leaves encircled him before completely disappearing from view.

Sai narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Why are you doing this, Sasuke?"

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"Then just save the baby..."

Gaara hardened his gaze. He didn't like the intonation in her voice and very much disapproved her idea.

"Idiot." he ground out ever so softly, "you managed to get out of that situation last time, it won't make any difference now"

She smiled softly, eyes slowly closing. Gaara's finger pressed against her eye lids, pulling it up, "don't give up now..."

Sakura's eyes rolled as they stumbled back to consciousness

"You made a promise and I expect you to keep it," his firm voice reassured his hopeful visage.

"Hai..." she managed to whisper, "Kazekage-sama"

He clicked his tongue and withdrew a soldier pill from his pouch. He pushed it into her mouth and helped her chew, "don't let your chakra fade, just concentrate on it"

She slightly shook her head, "my chakra's fading far too quickly before I..."

He hushed her and inclined his head for a makeshift nod. According from his analysis, whenever Sakura harvested chakra from her reserves, she was easily drained at a frightening speed...

Sure pregnant women get tired easily, but it never affected their chakra. Quickly his mind revved into over drive in slight panic when he noticed her green chakra flickering slightly. He lifted her shirt and gazed at the opal gem resting nearby her navel, with its seal dancing in faint chakra.

He gently picked at it, carefully lifting it. The ink meticulously drawn on her belly began swiveling, breaking its perfect formation on her skin in the expense of boosting the chakra she was healing herself with.

And so, concluding his theory, he began concentrating his chakra into his hand as he carefully tore the gem from her skin. The writing calmed down, pacified by the gradual release of the gem.

The moment he successfully plucked the piece from her navel, Sakura's concentration improved. The once pale green glow radiated a prouder shade. He shifted back to her and swiftly tugged the sword, slowing down when the tip gradually sank into her body.

He carefully watched her, feeling the sword push back from his hand as she hastily healed herself. A few breathless seconds later, the sword clattered before her with a sonorous note that echoed into the night.

A relieved chuckle escaped from Gaara's sigh. He gently pulled her into a tight hug, lips finding hers before he pulled her into a mind splitting, warm hearted kiss. She sighed, melting at that very spot as limbs turned jelly and refused to pull him closer, still wanting to remain alert in case an ambush was lurking in the dark. He pulled away, holding her head near his so that their foreheads touched.

Passion. The very word that glazed every inch of Gaara's soul right now as it boldly radiated out of him. Even if he didn't outwardly smile, his soul did.

How a soul smiled never crossed Sakura's mind, instead she framed a delightful smirk on her lips. This ecstatic sensation of knowing that she was still alive and safe with their child accompanied this blissful knowledge that Gaara hung on to her, squeezing every bit of hope into her so that she'd overcome these all even the ominous grip of death itself.

"Thank you..."

"I love you"

His words drowned Sakura's as it cascaded past his lips. They both froze, both startled at what he said. But then again... It sounded right...

From the very beginning it had always sounded right. And by all reasons that didn't seem necessary, it was an impulsive phrase that he knew was true and could no longer hold it back.

"I love you..." He said again, each word growing bolder after the next. He felt great saying it, and was relieved to release that tension bubbling in his loins. It was an exhilarating rush, and he knew that it was such a feat to admit it to her without being too late to realize it.

Curious eyes befell on his, slightly taming his wild soul. Brows furrowed in sudden astonishment as lips began fluttering open and closed. Speechless, she was speechless.

Reassuringly, he cradled her head and repeated audibly without skipping a beat, "I love you, Haruno Sakura"

Her face suddenly froze and eyes shot wide open as shallow breaths tumbled out of her mouth.

What a strange reaction. Perhaps she couldn't believe it. She looked as if she had been punched in the gut. Maybe it _was_ a little too sudden, but he didn't care anymore. Sudden on not, he'll make her accept that fact--

"Gaara," she gasped as she fisted in his clothes. She tensed as her face contorted in pain.

"What?"

"The baby," she whimpered, "It's coming"

"What?!"

She snapped and roared, "_I said the baby's coming you idiot_!!"

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A/N: I kinda feel that this installment was rather hurried… but I dunno… but Omg! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!!!!

Whoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoao~~~~!!!!!!!!!!

Even I can't believe it myself!!!! It's finally here~!!!

I can't effing believe it!!!! I know it seems rather hurried, but it's really, finally here!

Hurry hurry!!! I need a burst of inspiration and suggestions from you guys.

Boy, Girl or Twins?

What will be the fate of Gaara after this?

The document is still on the loose!!

And to make matters worse, Sasuke has it!! Gasp!!! _What do you think_ will happen and why?!?!

Stay updated with me~

u

Please Review

Oh and more apologies from the delay! Really really really sorry….

Hope you guys enjoyed… and I hoped that appeased the delay…

O.o;;

^^;;


	14. The Arrival

**Beware**: Some contents may turn for the unexpected; results have been fully analyzed for the plot's sake. I'm apologizing in advance for letting the hopeful down…

Brace yourself…

**Chapter Fourteen**: _The Arrival_

"_I SAID THE BABY'S COMING YOU IDIOT_!"

"N-now?" sputtered Gaara, as if a total kunai had been driven to his gut. This discombobulation of his logical thinking drowned him away from the world.

Her breathing soon became labored as she palmed the sides of her belly. Perhaps when she peed on her shorts the moment she arrived had been a warning... And maybe the gem had been easing the pain all along--another spine chilling shiver spread throughout her body, she groaned in discomfort.f

Gaara panicked all the more. What was he going to do?! No one gave him any warning regarding this matter!! He rose to his feet before he fsank back down again, he can't go around screaming for help! Why would he ask help in an enemy's territory?

Instead he began enveloping himself with Sakura in a cluster of sand, her hand tightly fisted in his clothing, yanking him down to get a better view of her agonizing visage.

"_GAARA YOU IDIOT!!!_"

What? Idiot?! Hell he _is_ one right now! He doesn't know what to do, perhaps he could transport them both back to Sand and then have the—

"I'm about to give birth and you're doing a _transportation jutsu_?!?!" she squealed, pounding her fist on his chest, carefully keeping her chakra in bay, but slightly failed when he coughed the air out she drove from his lungs. It would leave a bruise, but neither one couldn't care less anymore.

And she did have a point, if it was risky to transport pregnant women, what more with those about to give birth?

"What do I do?!" he asked in aggravation

Sakura began trying to even out her breaths, "then what had been those schedules good for if you don't know what you're supposed to do?!" she grounded out.

She was right; he had been attending those classes with Sakura regarding these situations and other things that prepared them both with being good parents--

"AAGGHH!!!"

His chain of thoughts shattered to pieces, he had never been so nervous in his entire life. This anxiety surpassed all those he had experienced. It was the kind that can never be explained unless you've had a first hand experience of such event--

"_GAARA_!!" she squealed, rolling to her back and bending her knees high and apart.

Immediately, he ran to her shorts and began removing them--Oh good lord--

"I'm crowning!!" she gasped, head raising before falling to the ground with another grunt

"You can't give birth here!" sputtered Gaara, utterly mortified by the tiny locks of hair emerging from her--

"What do you mean?!?" she growled before howling yet again, squeezing this life out of her.

"I'm transporting you," stated Gaara as he began summoning forth his sand from his gourd. Eyes suddenly narrowed to beckon his normally cool composure in order to regain concentration to capture that specific place he needed to transport. He can't afford to risk a missing limb or any anatomy from anyone of them when they arrive there. And yet, just as his sand fully enclosed them all, dense billowing mist began cushioning Sakura's back until it devoured her, leaving nothing in her wake.

…

Gaara blinked...

The hell?!

"Sakura?" he cancelled his almost completed shunshin and began feebly pawing the ground where she once lay, even when it revealed the emptiness when dust ebbed away.

"Sakura?" he repeated, rising to his feet and whipping his head about in his useless attempt to search for her. He clicked his tongue and raked his nails through his scalp.

Where the _hell_ did she go?!

She can't simply _disappear_ like that!

...

Releasing a heavy set of infinite curses, he stupidly paced up and down before he realized his idiocy and finally shunshin-ed away…

Had his thoughts been any clearer, he would have remember the last piece of advise the Hokage gave him after the success of the _surgery._

_"Just remember, when the seal on her tummy acts up--you know, when it starts dancing and lighting up, it means that it's almost time to give birth." _The very words the Hokage gave to Gaara before they left.

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More papers filed as the meeting carried on and stretched further into complexities that Gaara was comfortably aware of. Tsunade couldn't help but intently watch _Gaara_ and constantly speak on _his _behalf when the council members asked _him_ questions.

Anxiety usually overwhelmed her when that was the case.

"So where shall we dispatch our men according to the tactics you'd wish to carry out, as the Hokage-sama says you insist?"

"I Think--"

"Please," interrupted the said council member, "let _our_ Kazekage give you _his_ piece of mind"

Tsunade pressed her lips tightly, "very well." Breathlessly, she watched the Kazekage as the whole council did. He raised his head and carefully looked around the room, eyes locking with Tsunade with a silent cry for help.

_Please sound smart_, begged Tsunade, _please, just this once, try to sound plausibly loud Naruto._

"Hokage-sama!" interrupted Shizune who came bursting in the room, quite out of breath with her piggy stood by her side, equally exhausted.

She'd have to praise Shizune for such well-timed diversion, but then wondered what form of deception would keep everyone in the room busy—plausible enough for everyone to never suspect a thing.

"Sakura's back!"

"What?"

Shizune nodded vigorously, "her assigned bed is glowing, she's coming back. Her seal is summoning her!"

Tsunade turned to Naruto who turned pale, almost understanding the idea that he'd have to witness Gaara's child being born on his behalf.

Tsunade bowed deeply after rising, "Kazekage-sama, members, please excuse me." Then before she turned to leave, she added with hazel eyes keenly locked on _Gaara,_ "Would the father like to bear witness?"

"He should!" a voice spoke up from Sand's council.

Tsunade hid her smile well until she and Naruto stepped out of the office without raising as much suspicion from everyone.

Naruto sighed freely

"Not yet, don't drop the act yet," interrupted Tsunade as they strode towards the portal that would lead them straight to Leaf's tower.

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Upon remembering the Hokage's words, Gaara transported himself back in his tower before dashing straight to the room that beheld the portal between Sand and Leaf, dodging anyone who worked at the tower to avoid their harangue.

The moment he arrived in the hospital, he found a handful of familiar people equally waiting in anxiety. The swinging doors burst open and found another Gaara garbed in surgical uniform flailing his way out with a pair of nurses pushing him back into the room. Sakura's wailing echoed down the hall, matching Naruto squealing.

"_The horror_!!"

Gaara immediately strode up and snatched the cap from his look a-like's head. Out of surprise, everyone halted. The nurses released the now calm Naruto the moment his henge dropped. Gaara began stripping off the uniform from Naruto and wore it himself before bravely marching in the room with the nurses hot on heels.

Naruto blinked before sighing, "I thought I was gonna die..."

"Well, at least you did your part," grinned Kankuro, yanking the blonde down to take the empty seat next to him.

Temari who sat on the other side elbowed Naruto. The male whipped his head to her before his eyes moved past her to catch a glimpse of more visitors standing in the middle of the hall.

Naruto rose to his feet and hugged the tall dark-haired man, "Sakura's gonna be a mommy!!!"

Sasuke's hood fell to his shoulders as his eyes gazed through the door with his sharingan instantly fading. From the look on his face, he was very much surprised. Naruto pulled away from the Uchiha and hauled him to the seat between Kankuro and Temari.

"I want to go in..."

Naruto shook his head, "only one family members can"

Sasuke glared at the blonde, "she's not related to Gaara in anyway"

"No," joined Temari, "but that's his kid being delivered in there"

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"Just a little more Sakura," instructed Tsunade as she waited by the end of the bed with readied hands.

"Push," muttered Gaara, gripping the railing until his knuckles as his face unconsciously contorted in sync with Sakura's pain—

"Shutupshutupshutupshutupshut--AAAAGGGHH!!!" she grabbed Gaara's hand and grimaced as she pushed whatever she was supposed to push. Muscles flexed with the contraction as the excruciating pain wedged out of her canal and through her orifice.

Her breathing labored as dry cloth dabbed her face. She slowly peered through her eyes and watched Gaara calmly wipe her sweat. She smiled at him despite the sudden fullness ripping her from within--she screamed.

And he screamed when the hand she held seemed to have been crushed under her grip. Yet, he bit back his whimpers as he carried on wiping her forehead, tears trying to stumble out of the corners of his eyes when suddenly he felt a wave of cooling chakra healing his hand in a deformed structure only to have her crush it again.

He nearly stumbled as he doubled over with the fresh wave of anguish tore through his limbs and set his mind overdrive with the fact that he might possibly lose a hand, but he soldiered on, trying to remember that giving birth was a hundred times beyond what he was experiencing, but… why can't she—

"_Aaaaggghh!!!!" _She screamed

"_Dammit Sakura.." he whimpered_

And then finally a faint cry broke the spell.

Gaara staggered back, knees buckling as he cradled and gingerly gazed at his distorted hand. Horror wrecked through him at the thought of possibly having to crush his right hand and have it re-healed—

"It's a boy" announced Tsunade

He scrambled back to his feet and shuffled his way to Tsunade and watched the miniscule stranger's face wrinkle under all the plasma and gore, red all over as he screamed in tears.

His garbled hand had long been forgotten as he calmed down, releasing a short-breathed chuckle in his tranquil, yet liberated delight long before a pair of odd, large scissors interrupted him from his glimpse of his son.

"Cut the cord," instructed Tsunade

He nodded sternly before taking the scissors, keeping his hands firm as he nervously snipped the tube of flesh away, stealing an askance look from his boy before Shizune took him away from Tsunade for some cleaning up in a distant table.

He sighed and turned to Sakura only to have his brows droop over his eyes in tense anticipation. Long before he could ask what the matter was another scream echoed in the room coming straight from Sakura.

"Another one," muttered Tsunade as she rolled her seat back to her previous position.

"Twins?" muttered Gaara, quickly striding to Sakura's side after he tore his gaze from the baby--his baby, his son being cleaned up. This time, he was going to keep his hands to himself.

Another short-breathed chuckle escaped his lips. "That's right, Sakura, keep going--"

"_JUST FUCKING SHUT UP GAARAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!!"_

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Seconds ticked to minutes, sailing away to an hour until time flitted by with another few more.

The waiting room at the end of the hall, once empty, was now crowded by everyone Sakura cared for. On the chair were Kankuro, Sasuke, Temari a slightly bulging Ino and Shikamaru leaning on the wall next to her, head hanging low with closed eyes. Chouji sat by Shikamaru's foot seriously munching away his bag of chips.

Kakashi leaned next to Shikamaru, his icha book in hand. Lee was crying to his Sensei next to the silver-haired man as both rambled on about youth blooming on to a beautiful generation and so on and so forth.

Tenten and Hinata were happily chatting away with handful of paper bags dangling from their shoulders and arms. Neji sat cross legged on the opposing bench, flipping through the pages of a magazine. Naruto was off listing names in a notepad he snatched from somewhere.

And Kurenai recently arrived with a baby in her arms, momentarily stealing the limelight as people flocked to her, save for the stoic ones who remained continuing their business.

The abrupt hasty opening of the doors casted a silent spell in the once noisy hall, revealing a dampened Shizune gasping with an unreadable expression on her face as tears continuously flowed down her reddened face. Her surgical mask hung loose around her neck and blood smeared randomly and lightly across her light blue robe, until she managed to crack a ludicrous grin across her messy face.

"Twins," she managed to say, "we've got twins!"

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Takeshi and Mizumi...

Hatori and Tomoko...

Seijuu and Sunako...

Gaara sat cross legged on the armrest next to a slumbering Sakura. He glanced over her and studied her pale face; he reached out for her needled hand, rubbed her wrist with his thumb then brought it to his lips as he sealed a kiss over the needle taped to her skin, eyes fixated on the woman.

He gingerly wove his unharmed fingers to interlock hers as he slumped back to watch two small cribs situated before him with pink and blue covers wrapping two slumbering babes. He sighed...

The morning was beautiful and he stayed up all night watching Sakura sleep and looking after the babies. He had never felt so... Contented and satisfied in his whole life before, though it may have caused him his right hand… but that was besides the point, since he now had chakra-induced bandages wrapping his hand. Within a few hours, his hand will be restored to its rightful condition.

Tearing that fragment of thought aside, he found himself slipping into a state of… such foreign disbelief.

It was all so surreal. He was living in a wonderful dream.. And if it ever was, he would never want to wake from it. Yet his calmness wouldn't rest until he... Smiled.

And so he did.

Then he stopped. Why was he smiling? It was never in his nature to smile… and his cheeks suddenly felt heavy from framing such facial muscles to fix his face and match it with the rightful mood. And so he scowled like he normally did…

But then discontent devoured him, and so he smiled again. Oh god it felt so good to smile at that very moment. Every _moment_ he spent with Sakura was all so very _new_.

From the night it began, to the point of convincing her, to drag her into classes, to rescue her from the battlefield and save her from kidnappers to the point where she brought a new beginning in his life and a few interesting arguments, laughter and sweet moments he'd never trade for another, these were all experiences she let him taste… and it all tasted so wonderfully right…

Sakura was woman he found very special. Special in a way where he knew she'd always surprise him with something new, something memorable and something he wished would never end… She should stay with him and help him taste them all with her holding the spoon before his mouth.

Haruno Sakura was revealing Gaara a new life he never knew existed. She was helping him become the human he really was, she was helping him understand that life wasn't just about being a tool to serve the village, but about living to its fullest capacity that he needed to know and experience before he leaves Earth… He needed to _live._

He deserved all this, thanks to her, he finally realized that…

Gaara of the Sand was also _human_ and he deserved to _live_ like one.

He deserved to smile and be happy... At least once if not forever.

He deserved Sakura after all the things he did for her.

And she deserved him. She deserved his affection, support... Love.

They deserved each other, for only they knew the happiness of the other.

He sighed once more. It felt so good to wake up every morning to know that you have a very beautiful family as a reward for all your good deeds. To know that you are loving someone and be reassured that you are being loved back… by that very person…

With his sand, he pulled both cribs closer as he leaned forth with his elbows propped against his knees. To his left, was his very handsome, slumbering son. His soft chuckle fainted to a gentle smile.

He knew it; his son was born with pink hair. Unlike his very cute sister, she had blood red hair and very light brows. It was better than having none, Gaara thought.

His smile widened. His son looked just like him, save for the pink hair and the absence of the black rings around his eye. His daughter looked just like her mom, save for the deep red hair and the faint signs of prominent eyebags that might develop to rings, like him. Oh dear lord, he must make sure they'd never surface if he wanted to be free from Sakura's constant reminder…

"They're beautiful..." her sleepy voice croaked

Gaara turned to Sakura and suddenly bent down to her face--he caught himself and froze by just a hair's breadth away from her lips. Her lethargic eyes widened at his sudden action.

Smoothly, he pulled away, resisting a kiss he suddenly craved for. There was no better way to express his thankfulness than to kiss her. Silently, he rebuked himself for letting such idea cross his mind.

"Our son has your eyes," he muttered, timidity smothered him in all of a sudden

She slowly sat up; Gaara's sand swarmed her back to give her better leverage.

"Thanks," she muttered, suddenly wanting to hug him. Her eyes drifted away from his broad back and came to settle her eyes to two cribs.

It was only then that she remembered bearing two babies. She fell breathless when she saw slight movement in both the glass containers.

"Do you wish to cradle them?" he turned to face her

Sakura fought back tears as an excited grin spread across her face, "Yes, I'd very much like that…"

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"What do you plan to do with that?"

Sasuke pulled away from the gap of the door, averting his gaze from the happy couple carrying their babies. Envy clutched his loins as he slowly turned to face Sai.

"I plan to destroy him..."

Sai remained impassive, "Why?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "perhaps a bargain would suffice"

With those words hanging openly in the air, it taunted suspicion to rise before the Uchiha decided to leave, shrugging past Sai as if he was silently daring to meddle into his business. The artist glanced over his shoulder, sensing that hint of inkling doubt before he mentally absorbed it.

The Uchiha, who fled upon their brutal engagement back in Sound led to a rope of questions that needed to be answered. He was withdrawing again from society and his bitterness was growing pungent in the air. Perhaps Sai should warn the couple as a byline from all the schedules he was supposed to recite.

He firmly gripped the door knob before distinct youthful giggles emanated from the room and echoed down the hall, shedding the light of bliss upon the two stranger's arrival and the parents' warm welcome towards them.

Had Sai been further aware of the idea that he was starting to _feel_ guilty, he would have acknowledge the fact that a feeling had breached his usual calloused poise, because his hand began disobeying his logical command the moment it fell limp to side.

He took a hesitant step back as his body fully voiced out their protest, until he finally succumb to his gut instinct. Taking several lengthy strides away from the door, he tucked his hands his pockets, turned his back and walked down the hall, feeling slightly better at his questionable action.

Another wave of mirthful laughter tore through the silence, summoning a strange contented smile to adorn his pallor.

Perhaps he can spare the two at least a few more hours before hauling them back into the pit of reality the world cornered them into…

It was, after all, the least he could do.

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**A/N: **And there you have it! Chapter fourteen! And so, I've decided to make it twins!

Bash me if you will, or praise me on the contrary, but I have finally decided along with the majority of the readers.

Twins it is! Though, specifically pointed out "_although that seems out of place, because the whole time, she's supposed to feel just one chakra source other than her own, right? She's a top medic, god, she would have detected it if she was having twins" _as **_h a r u h i i . m e h_** (no space for the name, somehow your name disappears O.o) has mentioned

I would admit that it makes perfect sense, but I promise another explanation in future chapters to cover up that bit of the story…

Oh well…

Hmmm… what else—Oh yes!!

I've finished the **whole story** itself in advance, and they're just waiting to be fixed, published, read and reviewed!!!

Wahahaha!!!

So anyways, they kind of have a price with reviews from here on out… it may take days before they get published just so that it may reach that hidden number of reviews I'm hoping my story would hit…

But just so you guys know and won't panic (since I'm feeling rather evil and illogical at the moment [wahahaha]), I'll be throwing in the benchmark of my goal (… did that make sense?)

Hopefully, my reviews would reach _**165-170**_ before chapter fifteen will be released…

Waahahahaha!! I'm just dying to hear your response!!

By the by, **_leogirl321_**, I've taken your idea into account and plot bunnies are going berserk in my head… I think I may have to start another chappie for that bit…

I might go for a part two… but that's only a thought… nothing to look forward to…

=,=;;;

So there ya go… Don't forget to review.. _Chapter Fifteen_ depends on it! ^^

*inserts evil sugary laughter*

^u^


	15. The Noble Moon and The Beautiful Sun

**Chapter Fifteen**

_"How often do you see a maven and well-known male shinobi with pink hair"_

_"Do you have an issue with pink hair?"f_

He never exactly dared Sakura… Nor did he actually want to face that question itself…

Pink Hair.

…

Sure why not?

…

He didn't exactly have issues with them…

But he actually just cringed when he'd remember the very words he said that he unintentionally seemed to have offended this woman… And perhaps from this childish, _taboo_-ed issue he'd gotten himself into… he just had to lean back and salute to Life's Ironies…

Yes.

Life's ironies…

It was those kinds of sick joke Fate or Destiny or whatever higher being it is up there who found themselves stuck in a rut and stare into our feeble little lives where we do everything and just about anything just to get by… and yet, there they were… enjoying themselves by pulling a melodramatic prank on us, like the cliché scene of leaving your umbrella behind just when it begins to rain outside and you're two blocks away from home or other things such as insulting the pink hair and have your son take the toll…

It really was a sick joke actually… and Gaara must have learned from this eye twitching experience to always hold his tongue before his crude jokes go out of hand and have Fate listen in and slightly shift the gears to make him go insane…

But could he really blame himself or Sakura or his son for having pink hair?

Unfortunately, this embarrassment faded away to the point of not caring at all…

This was his son, for Kami's sake, and he'd bash those who'd make fun of him. Actually, he'll see to it that pink hair would be _in_. And have big strong burly men march around with kick ass ninja skills flaunting their recently dyed pink hair…

Okay… maybe not that bit.

Perhaps he should thank that tiny bundle of joy in his arms from weaving him out of those mortifying thoughts he'd never imagine would invade his mind. The moment those bright green eyes flashed wide open and scan the area, nearly made his heart sink and forcibly slant his head to go 'awe'—which he managed to hold back in, thanks to his stubbornness… but even if that tiny gesture of adoration didn't breach his hardened resolve, his face, at least, softened to a warm heart-melting smile…

"Ryuuzuki," spoke Gaara, "What do you think of that name?"

Sakura shrugged, nodding in gradual agreement, "Ryuuzuki as in dragon and moon or noble and moon?"

"The latter"

She nodded further, "not bad… why choose that?"

He glanced down… noble moon… why had he thought of that name? Maybe it was the sudden reminder of the way his hair would exactly match the glow the moon had when a lunar eclipse visited them some good years ago. And the noble bit? Every fibre of his innocent soul reverberated with such royalty he got from his dad… so why not?

"Go figure…" smirked Gaara, eyeing his son all the more, having flashes of the far future weave with his future plans and enthusiastic hopes revolving around his son and daughter… "what about her?"

Sakura grinned then scrutinized her daughters stoic face. She couldn't go for Gaarako, a _feminized _version of her father's name, since it sounded horrible. Her face fell and eyes widened when the mortifying thought intruded her mental peace.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head and nervously giggled, reassuring that she was fine before she began marching down a different route of thoughts…

Her hair, unlike her brother's, glowed a deeper red that could nearly be mistaken for brown had it been a few shades darker in the night… Her hair walked along the line of burgundy with a touch of slight orange in it… like the sky would on a setting sun. Unlike her brother's soft glow, this girl showed a strong radiance like her father bore and such handsomeness that might even put hers to shame one day…

Envy drifted to pride as Sakura let her name roll her tongue, "Harumi"

"Well chosen," remarked Gaara as he strode over to Sakura's side and peck his daughter on the forehead. Harumi merely mewled in protest before yanking her mother's hair and throwing her foot over to Ryuuzuki who started a bit. The girl gagged, slightly rousing panic from both parents before Sakura first calmed down when she figured that it was Harumi's attempt for a baby giggle... eventually, their Ryuuzuki threatened to break out in tears.

Sakura anxiously looked at Gaara, remembering the unfortunate event in the baby ward during Gaara's first encounter with a baby. She didn't remember anything nice out of it and nearly had a group of his men attack them had he not told them to stand their ground—but anyway, that was long ago and Gaara was redeeming himself well when he swayed slightly and calmed his son down almost quite effortlessly.

"Not bad," crooned Sakura, "I guess your daddy won't be an awkward meanie in the far future, huh, Harumi?"

Gaara shrugged, ignoring the remark as he spoke to his son, "it's quite unhealthy to steal the title from your mom and her mentor"

"What title?" she deadpanned, her oblivion dominated more of the scales in her head than it did for her sudden rage. Besides, she can't really go off with her babies around.

Gaara smirk, daring to glaze his dark humor with a pinch of amusement, "the bulldozer"

_Bulldozer_, thought Sakura, slightly picking up the fact that they were mindless machines that easily went for anything worth bashing just to relieve the tension building in their joints for the sake of delivering their intentions.

She could have scoffed at that, yes.

She could have punched him right out the window, yes.

But she couldn't ruin the fun, oh no she couldn't.

"Hmm.. I guess that's your second wish after the first one"

Though he couldn't exactly tell why, he just knew she was prodding the vague idea of his son having pink hair and shoving it right at his face. She was having a go at him… and he hated it very, _very_ much.

"What's wrong with pink hair?" he snapped, quite childishly. Right after the words broke free; he cleared his throat yet held his resolve. He was going to make a point that it would be the last time _this_ issue was going to be brought up.

Sakura grinned far more wickedly than the last time, as she teasingly leaned in, watching Gaara's face soften to a nervous façade. "Exactly," she whispered inches before his lips before she swiftily pulled back, immediately hauling a lever to change the topic long before he could retort.

"You've got good genes,"

Gaara's mouth snapped shot before rolling his eyes. He did have to admit that he missed those little smart arguments they used to toss when her temper was usually thin. Perhaps, he could consider it as revenge since she was now testing his temper.

"Ryuuzuki and Harumi... Are two very beautiful babies... _Aren't you_?" She began cooing, doing funny faces and slightly jump on the bed to start cranking up some sweet giggles from her daughter. She seriously never heard Harumi laugh the moment she woke, save for the awkward giggles the baby attempted--but whatever; her brother did most of the laughter and mood lifting than this little girl did--who actually brought more slight panic when she erupted in her fit full of first laughter... Perhaps, she didn't giggle _as_ insanely, but--ah, what the heck.

He was amused at how silly Sakura began to act and withdrew from a building comment rising in his head, as he silently watched her amuse their daughter. He sighed and turned to his son next, peering over his tiny feet and giggle at his mom. Such a beautiful family…

He remembered the time when Sakura bled at the restaurant and nearly lose the kids when they got to Sand's hospital due to some complications… he would admit that he'd really have to thank Tsunade and pat himself on the back for fighting for something he never imagined would be so… beautiful. Scratch that word, it was becoming too overstated…

Exhilarating… yes… that might do. He was a family that exhilarated him so…

"Thank you…" he mindlessly muttered, though this one was considerably off the hook.. Because even if this was another one of his impulsive blurts, and he did really mean it… it was something Sakura verbally deserved albeit all the masochistic and sadistic drama or argument they both shared.

Sakura froze before sighing and pulled back, shaking her head as she slowly turned to Gaara with a heartfelt smile, "I should be the one thanking you, really."

The amusing shuffling came to an end when he noticed that Ryuuzuki had long drifted to peaceful slumber in his mother's other free arm. When she got him from his grip? He could never tell. Immediately, he withdrew his son to his chest, carefully ensuring that the babe wouldn't stir; an angelic image with his thumb plugged to his mouth.

He caught himself staring at her again, and he might have to blame himself that it wasn't his daughter he was gazing in awe. Unaware that he visibly swallowed to complement widened eyes, the obvious signs of restrained actions and sudden anxiety came to play.

Sakura smiled warmly. It was rather amusing to watch the Kazekage, a proud man who was nothing but chivalrous, start tripping before her. It was cute… and she liked it. Though she'd admit she wasn't used to it, she could start fixing that bit… because she _was_ liking it.

Suddenly, her hand began finding its way to his cheek amidst overcoming the hindrance of hesitation and the whatnots that wrought chaos into her mind before her impulses won over logical thoughts and analyses. Her soft, warm and reassuring touch against his cheek soothed him and brought his eyes over to lock with hers.

He wasn't smiling like she was, but certain hope flickered in and out of life since he was unsure about her vague actions and what in the world she was doing or planning to do… hell, she wasn't sure herself… but..

"Thank you..." she muttered, unconsciously parting her lips and eyeing his.

He suddenly found himself leaning and long before he could haul himself back, a surge of emotion pushed him lower to gingerly touch Sakura's lips with his. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity; the awkwardness never surfaced, but instead, bliss took over.

She sighed, thumb rubbing circles on his cheek as she memorized his warmth and distinct scent that slowly drugged her into satisfaction. They fell into each others gaze before elation gradually coaxed them into visual negligence.

But then his kiss drifted to her temple, and his eyes firmly shut in regret and then drew in her faint musky scent--that reminded him of peaches, by the way--to summon the strength to speak. With a heavy sigh, he grumbled, "I really... Can't..."

"Mm?" she sighed into his touches, eyes opening by just slightly as she fell conscious when a pair of innocent eyes studied them both.

He really should tell her now… for the sake of their safety. He knew Homura—_Homuda_ was still on the lose and was probably scheming for his revenge.. and he doesn't have the heart to see his family be endangered again. He should tell her to leave, head back to Konoha and—

What about the kids? The reason why he went through all this trouble was for the sake of his throne… but could he really selfishly strip these away from Sakura, who bore them? After all, he was still aware of Sasuke and his desire to have Sakura come back to him…

"What is it?" she asked, turning back to him with a pair of promising jade eyes wedging guilt into his soul…

Could he really tell her to leave just like that?

….

He probably should.

"I really can't…" He drew in a pain staking breath and mumbled the rest of the words without skipping a beat, "return you to Sasuke," and then he began mentally murdering himself. He just made his situation from bad to worse. And when he found her unfathomable eyes scrutinizing him he just had to babble, "She's got your look..."

"Really?" smiled Sakura, suddenly turning away, "I-I think she has your intense gaze... I mean, she makes me conscious... as if she…"

"Knows what you're thinking..." continued Gaara with an airy tone that was very much out of place. His daughter haunted him so badly that he wanted to jump off a building—No, start scratching his neck with a kunai and tie himself upside down to have crows pecking at his neck and bathe in lemon juice. That was the amount of self-loathing he bore at the moment… and it was all just because of his inability to be more assertive in these sensitive issues... _Damn_!

This was just like choosing over _morality_ and _logic_ all over again!

"Ne... She reminds me of you.." noted Sakura

"Really?" He managed to throw in a random word, hoping that it perfectly suited her question and was very much begging in silence that it wasn't another one of those _what-do-you-think? _questions, because that would just make him sound very stupid if it was… and so he boldly steered the conversation towards another road just to linger in the safe side of the road.

"She resembles you a lot"

"Yeah..." Sakura nodded, "save for the red hair... Thin brows and the early signs of a possible _panda_ eyes"

_Dammit_, he cringed. This was definitely a wrong turn, the dead end kind of shit.

He just knew that something like this would come up after she noted her son's pink hair. But he supposed awareness never ever did diminish the inevitable. And so with a grinding sigh (if it ever was possible to do), he gave in as calmly as he possibly could.

"Sorry..." muttered Gaara almost inaudibly while waltzing in and out a trance of that randomly hopped into his mind.

She shook her head, "don't be... She's beautiful..."

It fell a little quiet once more as she cuddled her soft burgundy tufts of hair…

Wait… so she _wasn't_ rubbing that fact to his face… was she? Or was she driving him nuts with insanity because of the selected genes? Damn it! He can't blame his sperm for being the fastest! I mean, come on! Out of the several millions swimming through her vagina, what are the odds of those masochistic sperms and them stupid genetic—

"What about pinky?"

"What?" he snapped every so quietly, she was seriously driving him on edge today… dammit, he must… stay calm…

"I mean… our son... Ryuuzuki?" she repeated slowly. At first it seemed awkward saying that, but after a while it felt great to realize its underlying truth. Well, whatever it took to douse that dangerous fire burning in his eyes.

Slightly shutting down his anger program, he decided to grumpily look at his son. Soft, delicate features promised a stunning visage in the far future, while irresistible cuteness reigned at the moment. At that very moment, he instantly forgot what they were talking about or what he was thinking of—he cut that off long before he remembered it… but—gah!!! Happythoughtshappythoughtshappythoughts…

"Handsome..." breathed Sakura, grinning almost idiotically with her swelling pride, "absolutely stunning… _like her father_..." her words faded to a whisper.

"I love you..." said Gaara watching Sakura watch their son—

Wait a minute. He was mad, wasn't he?

…

Ah, whatever, he suddenly felt like saying it anyway… He always had nowadays… that cheeky little phrase that had long been caged away managed to pick its lock the moment his emotions had long been rattled up... So yeah, it was just as good as a prisoner on the loose.

"Hm?" she turned her head to him.

Awkwardly, he lifted their son and changed the tone in his voice, "I love you, Satoru" he robotically repeated, but with eyes deeply fixed on her. God, he must look like a complete idiot right now--wait! Ryuuzuki! His son's name's Ryuuzuki dammit!!!

She stretched her mouth in a stiff smile before looking away. She was secretly hoping he'd tell her that... She never really managed to respond to his phrase. This must have been the fifth time he told her without a response... wait a minute... who's _Satoru...?_

"You three make me... Feel contented," said Gaara with an almost uncertain voice as if he'd been struggling to say them. Wait a minute, what's he saying anyway? He should stop himself and seal his mouth before—

"Me too..." she muttered, feeling that surge of euphoria bubble from within. She looked down and watched her daughter inquisitively look around as a pathetic excuse to shy away from his melting gape--

"A-tishi!!"

The baby sneezed, Sakura awed, Gaara smiled and their son stirred. It was the only noise that concluded their interaction before silence began lingering once again… though it had long forgotten about the awkwardness it usually mingled with. Then right out of the blue, he felt a comfortable weight press down on his shoulder… his left shoulder… the side where Sakura rested…

A smile sneaked its way to his face. He didn't exactly need visual confirmation from that anymore, he didn't need anymore moments to be ruined… they were already fine the way they were…

"Gaara...?"

"Mm?" Had Sakura known any better, that was an underlying groan from Gaara who just _knew_ that _this_ moment was coming to an end...

"What'll happen next?"

He seemed to relax a bit more, well, that didn't sound so bad... After a thoughtful moment, he let his impulsive tongue take the lead, and this time, it was hungry for carnal needs, it was hungry for being heard. "I can imagine us staying like this..."

She hummed, "_us_... That sounds nice..."

A sudden hush.

_Hello awkwardness..._

"It does..."

A lengthy pause.

_How long are you staying, awkwardness?_

"Gaara..."

"Mm.." he switched off the annoying little voice in his head... since when did that _creepy_, psychotic voice become _little?_ My goodness what in the world was he even _thinking_ about!? What the _hell_ is happening to him?! He was aware that it was him subconsciously talking to himself... in his head--He hadn't really lost it... yet--

"If..."

He blinked back to reality, rather grateful for having Sakura's voice wake him. Again. Having a mental debate and self doubt was beginning its haunting reign... and he really wasn't looking forward to settling it... he was still trying to get used to his _real_ solitude since the Tanuki no longer dwelled in him, and he was already having a hard time lingering in mental silence until his schizophrenic voice began taking the lead--

"I mean... What..." she sighed, not really sure how to put this, "I think I'm falling for you..."

Gaara deeply breathed in, a relaxed smile slid into his face in the process, "I'll wait 'til you're willing to stay with me..."

Perhaps she was caught up with the moment. She had a gorgeous daughter and a handsome son and a very loving man who's patiently waiting for her love. Who wouldn't lose their self and forget who they were when pitted in such situation? They had, after all, been through a lot, right? She bit her lip and craned her neck to look at him.

"I... Am starting to love you..."

His chest banged with ultimate bliss. Though he'd really admit that when confronted with such bold statement would freak him out, turn him off and/or mentally note to avoid bumping into such psycho… he'd have to seriously reconsider that… especially when Haruno Sakura just told him that.

"But I don't think I can stay with you..."

His heart dove into a pit of gyrating needles. She just _had_ to ruin the moment… but hey, he was also about to—screw that thought, _he_ should've ruined the moment! _No one_ ever dumps Gaara of the Sand!

…

Well… no one ever really did… since he never got in any other relationships other than this—but why the hell was he mentally explaining this all to you?! His life was practically falling into pieces, and to make it worse, it barely even lasted a second! Haruno Sakura, who warmed his heart also broke it in under a second! _That _was a world record!... if it ever did begin and...wait a minute, what where was he agai--Oh yeah...

"Why not?" a conspicuous frown set on his face in exchange for keeping his voice firm. He should seriously stop floating away when these realistic issues confronts him... it won't really do him any good, his thoughts were literally going farther away as a feeble excuse to avoid them. Thankfully, he realized that, and decided to anchor his mind for stability that it once had.

"Because I cause you har--"

The hand that held her shoulder moved to grab her head and pull her into silence. He successfully sealed her open mouth with a shuddering kiss by the stroke of his tongue, and then to leave her hanging… he teasingly pulled away, earning a whimper of distress to escape her throat.

"Stay with me."

She wasn't sure if that was a request or command, but--

He pulled her in a much more deepening kiss that had her moaning blissfully into her mouth. He stooped down and nuzzled his face on her neck, slightly nipping at her skin as he breathed into her ear, "stay with me..."

This time, it sounded more sincere.

"I don't know any other way to express how I feel, but.." he pulled away and held her at a distance, "stay with me"

"Gaa-mff... Mmm…"

He locked her into another warm kiss, not wanting to hear any decline from his offer. Gingerly, he tore away from her, foreheads touching and his breath fanning hers.

"Please..." damn, did he just say that?! Well… this _was_ an emergency… "I promise that I'll take care of you. If this is about the war, I promise that nothing wrong will ever happen to you guys and our villages. I promise to watch over and our children. I promise to be a good father and a better husband. I promise you life long years of happiness and peace if you wish... Just stay with me." he slightly pressed his lips against hers before parting again, eyes passionately locking into Sakura's… trying his best to never imagine himself begging her to stay in such a pathetic state because he didn't exactly like the idea of being such a pathetic guy who feared being dumped--scratch that, _left_ alone... okay maybe that also didn't sound right--but that was _why _he didn't want to vividly remember what he did just now.

But hey, desperation moves people… It's the determination that get things done… right?

"Sakura, stay with me..." he said again, voice firm and eyes steady.

When she opened her mouth again, she turned away so that his lips found her cheek, he began planting butterfly kisses on her soft skin. She slightly sighed. _I'd love to_, but held that thought, she frantically shoved her dubious conscience aside just this once.

Leaning towards a vague answer, she finally spoke, "I don't think I really have a choice... Right...?"

"Ahem..."

Sakura froze, a mad blush deluged her pale face and inwardly reprimanded Gaara, hoping that he would stop kissing her soon. But he didn't seem to mind.

In fact, he was too happy to care about anything else happening around him. He busied himself showering Sakura with kisses, covering any untouched skin with his gentle lips.

"Kazekage-sama, the Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you.." Temari spoke, obviously blushing from what she had seen

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Gaara stepped out of Sakura's ward with Ryuuzuki in his arm. Tsunade's hard face immediately mollified upon seeing the babe, she stepped forth in an attempt to snatch him from his grip but he swayed away from her in time.

She huffed and planted her fist on her hips, "Oh c'mon Gaara, don't be selfish!"

Gaara merely blinked, "I don't like the idea of having either one of my babies being carried around other than me or Sakura."

She rolled her eyes the sighed. "Fine, but can I at least see him?"

He nodded, a proud smirk tugging at his face.

"Aww, he has pink hair..." Tsunade grinned, "he'll be a very strong shinobi one day. With Sakura's chakra control and your impressive mind, your children will be very gorgeous and strong"

Gaara merely bobbed his head in acceptance, letting the _pink_ statement slide. "So, what is it that you wish to tell me?"

"Ah," the woman straightened herself upright, "we received a letter from Sound--"

"Let's make peace with them," he jumped in

Tsunade arched her brow, "you do know that they are a bunch of traitors--"

"Then let's overtake that bit, let it be a part of Konoha. Stretch Fire Country..." his voice faded away, he really can't be serious--but who was he kidding here, he now has something _worth_ protecting, sure that was his village's purpose, but his family just ignited a spark of indomitable passion over here!

Tsunade gave him a long gaze. He can't just throw around orders out of impulse, he sounded crazy... Desperate to end all this through a simple invasion or a peace treaty... was all too unrealistic. And this she shared with him.

Carefully, Gaara spoke, "I have a family now... And I want nothing more but peace to settle down"

The blonde sighed; a sympathetic smile graced her lips. She gently palmed his shoulder, "having a family is no excuse to avoid your duty as Kazekage... Your village... Don't you consider it as part of your family, too?"

He pondered over her wise saying. And he did slightly graze over the idea but--

"Gaara, since you also have a family of your own now, shouldn't it help you become a better leader this way?" then her voice lowered, "speaking of which, I believe you need to speak with Sasuke in discretion"

"Why?" Gaara narrowed his eyes, once again tightening that anchor to maintain mental stability. Darn it, his mind just keeps slipping away--but not this time, because _this_ time, this was something about _Sasuke_. If he, Gaara, was going crazy, Sasuke belonged to a family of psychos--no offense to those who loves him, he never really intended to enforce an army of Sasuke haters but--Gah!! There he went again! Going on and on and on about pratically nothing. Perhaps it was paranoia--

"...he has a document about you wishing to surrender your title and village to the enemy... Please deeply ponder on this and converse well with him before word gets out and have that file justify itself"

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The door shut upon his departure, her defiance of her son's absence had been cut short by ignoring her demands. She gave up, hollering after him, commanding him to return Ryuuzuki when the door didn't swing open again.

She sighed, a smile easing into her tired face. She knew that a son would fit him well, though she knew that he inwardly did wish for a little girl. Turning back to her red-haired offspring, she began breathing in the scent of her soft fluffy hair. Baby smell. And it was every bit addicting, cute, irresistible... addicting.

Tiny hands palmed her cheeks, small baby gasps commented her mother's actions as in a pitiful attempt to push her mother away. Sakura should know--and probably will in the future--that Harumi was rather ticklish around the neck.

"Harumi-chan, you're so irresistible," she cooed

Sakura's eyes opened the moment she feel a presence lurk in the corner of her ward. She turned her head to her left, starting a bit by the ominous presence an invisible man bore.

Clad in black clothing and his hair nearly combed to its unruly spikes. Sasuke leaned against the window with his hands tucked in his pockets and head hung low.

"Harumi..." he repeated

"S-Sasuke...?" muttered Sakura

He slowly looked up, "you look like your mother..." a curious look lingered in his gaze as he swung his weight off the wall and approached them.

Sakura swallowed, slightly feeling more awkward to hold Gaara's child and reveal it to the Uchiha. The said man withdrew a hand from his pockets and reached to gently slide the pad of his thumb across her cheek. She tensed, readying herself… for what? This was Sasuke… he wouldn't harm her baby… but then again… he _was_ Sasuke… The brother of the psycho who murdered his whole clan…

The baby's tiny mouth opened and followed his finger in feeble hopes of sucking it. An amused smirk traced gently on his lips, all negativity easily ebbed away as he sank down her bed.

"Harumi-chan," he began, "I am Uchiha Sasuke..."

Sakura slightly smiled when the baby giggled and clapped her hand once, bringing both thumbs straight to her mouth as her attention wandered off. Sasuke sighed in sheer amusement, eyes instinctively finding its way to Sakura's curiosity.

"Why are you here?" she asked with a polite smile

Sasuke's visage softened. "My conscience told me to first consult you..."

"With what...?"

He averted his gaze, "I want to apologize..."

"For what?"

"But instead, I suppose there is another way..." he turned to her. She blinked back before he boldly reached for her free hand.

She blinked all the more

"Sakura, you are aware that if you stick around with Gaara things like _these_ happen"

Her tummy dragged her heart to its pit as silence confirmed her awareness. _These_ meaning mishaps and dangers and… whatever… she wasn't really up for listing them all down. She already knew what she did wrong and it pained her to share it with her conscience.

"Then it is clear that you must vanish from his life so that he may properly carry out the task of being Kazekage"

Sasuke leaned forward, pecking her baby on her soft tender cheek before he rose and headed for the door. Hand resting on its knob just as he halted, "I think you should meet me at the valley by sundown"

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Two historic statues came face to face with only the curtain of cascading water to separate them at such a great distance. Golden hues of orange pink and blue tainted the sky as clouds as it gradually dipped its existence down the distant horizon with the sun.

Atop the falls was a lone statuesque figure who patiently waited for a presence to turn up. A disappointed sigh slipped past pressed lips.

"Gaara... What brings you here?"

"To ask what it was you wanted from Sakura."

Sasuke huffed a single breathed chortle before turning to face the Kazekage. Keen onyx eyes once more bore deeply into piercing green eyes, tension clashed between the two as the shrapnel of spine chilling discomfort spilled into the once nostalgic ambiance.

"I suppose there will always be another way to settle this..." began the Uchiha

_Settle what?_ Mused Gaara, not liking the undertone in the male's voice and the excited chakra hiding within him. But he didn't let his curiosity taint his imperturbable resolve.

"Remember that this is only a mission," said Sasuke stating it more than asking it, "she told me she'll return after giving you an heir... Just five months ago..."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. Alarm erased all attempts of a liberated mind to wander as it locked on one thing: Sasuke. Sakura. And his kids--Okay that was three, but still, he had his guard up.

"But what was that in her ward?" he hissed, fists shaking by his sides, "you practically slobbered her and brainwashed her to stay with you..."

"Get to the point," monotoned Gaara, getting bored quite easily with the dramatic male. He didn't need his useless speech since he wouldn't spend most of his time brooding, calculating and conjure reasons for a possible negotiation.

A manic chortle died after a short scoff, "I suggest a bargain... Lose Sakura and keep your title... Or lose your title and keep her..."

"Neither..." began Gaara, "I plan to keep them both..."

Sasuke lowered his head as wind began a maelstrom around him, hair swayed with a rogue current as chakra weaved its way out of his body. He began glowing a radiant blue as eerie screeching noises that had been claimed where a thousand chirping birds scratched the air.

Gaara's eyes narrowed when the Uchiha looked back at him with an insane grin on his lips and malicious sharingan glazing his eyes. He flickered forward with his right hand drawn back as his roar echoed into the evening:

"Chidori!!"

The surge of unrealistic victory deluged his twisted mind when his hit actually landed. A dark chuckle erupted from the back of his throat.

"I win..." he muttered, "Now Sakura has to marry me."

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_**Name Analysis:**_

_Ryuuhiko _(Woah, now why'd/how'd that get in t/here? O.o)

_Ryuu_- Noble

_Hiko-_ Prince

_Zuki-_ Moon

_Haru-_ Sun

_Mi-_ Beautiful

_Yoru- _Evening, night

_Hi-_ Sun, Sunlight (Now that was very random, since I wasn't really planning to start a name with that--Oh wait a minute! I did plan to use that! hehe... well, more for wierd or weird explanations, read on!)

Okay, I've originally set the son's name out as Satoru and the girl's Yoruhi since I was typing away in my phone in some non-wifi area and had to improvise instead of going for Baby boy and Baby girl (which would really sound off and lose my appetite for writing…) so, yeah, then when I got back to the divine wifi area, I began my research. Which, by the way, remember when Gaara slipped for _"I love you, Satoru?" _yeah, that explains it. It was originally more of an overlooked mistake cause I first released this when I had two hours to jam all this to a sketchy perfection when I actually need, at least, four...?

(Well, anyway, This is the third time I edited... Yeah, so I guess rewriting this stuff makes this piece become much more awesomer than the first product...)

So there, I went on with Ryuuhiko for the son and stuck with Yoruhi for the daughter after learning the awesome meaning of her unexpected name. But whatever, I mean, I decided to give _**kallou**_ the chance of being heard in a way to stretch my gratitude towards him/her… So that goes for Ryuuzuki and Harumi.

Dunno if that even made sense.. but I'm really tired right now… (apparently after editing this for the third time, I guess, I'm starting to actually understand my work--Oh yeah, you had no idea how I looked when I reread my work early in the morning, I had to sneak to my dad's laptop and try to type with uber long nails that made typing ridiculously louder than it should have normally sounded--so I clipped them away later in the day and all--woah, going off topic here. O.o)

Honestly, though, you guys managed to hit the benchmark in under a day or so… so, here's you're reward, _piping hot from the oven_ as pudgypudge would say.. yeah, I respect the man… you should go read his work if you're bored or something… coz I do~~ ^^

While waiting for your reviews… (heheh.. now I just sound pathetic), I'm gonna go to youtube and watch these really sick people--sick not as in they've got an ailment or their weirdos/wierdos... but they are in a way... in either an amusing way or informative way--which explains the influenced style of my writing--since it beginning to branch off to randomness (see, I'm even doing it now! O.o) As I was saying, you should also check these people out in these sites (they didn't pay me or anything, I just felt like sharing my joy... because sharing + joy = FUN.

Yep! That's right, so here's the url: .com/user/sxephil, .com/shanedawsontv and .com/shanedawsontv2

I'd also like thank _**anbaachan**_ for trying to help solve out **_haruhii_**(**_.meh_**)'s (really, there is no parenthesis, it's just that your/her name disappears, sorry about that O.o) statement… but my eyes seriously feel quite dry and whatever….

Gotta really sign out now…

Thanks for the reviews, but please don't stop there~~

I'm kicking it up a notch for chappie sixteen next, try to hit me with **185 **reviews before you get the next one out~~

**_Freeze!!_** Did I just say that?! Scratch 170-175... I making it **185+**, sorry for the misunderstanding... I was really not myself last night because of my sleepiness. I also apologize for the crappy work... but I will edit them at night! Okay, not night _there_, i meant night _here_, which would probably make it morning there... Hmmm--whatever, i gotta go now before my dad catches me on his laptop at 7.15am HKSAR of the 29th of May 2009~~

Byes~~~ ^^;;;

Hehe, start reviewing please~~

Remember, Chapter Sixteen _depends_ on it: **185**+ and I can really sit back and watch all you guys reach the limit of that benchmark, because now, after impressing me, I wish to see how far ya'll can impress me~~

An overdose of reviews would be like going high from a mountain of chocolate pudding~ ^^  
Or drowning in Gaara's sand... only with him not actually intending to kill you or anything... O.o  
Okay, now that just sounded wrong...

[Fri. May 29, 2009. 10.16pm HKSAR]


	16. Balance

Today, I realized that I've been bribing people to get a review for this story… FML

**A/N: **It's finally out!!! Sorry if I kept changing the benchmark… but honestly—never mind, I should just hold my tongue~

Enjoy the Story!! ^^

**Chapter Sixteen**

"Lose Sakura and keep your title, or lose your title and keep her"

...

Was it just him or was it his ears…?

Okay… maybe it did insinuate the fact that those two choices are rather the same, but that's not the point.

Perhaps his timeline short circuited or maybe his life was a broken record player who did nothing more but repeat the same song phrase over and over again… Because once again folks, something eerily reminded him of something again.

It was something that whispered along the lines of _Morality_ and _Logic_.

… Now wasn't that _new_?

Somehow and somewhere, Fate was either testing his patience or his priorities. Maybe he was stuck in Life's ironic game of _Let's See How Thick His Patience Is!_ Where all other dead, celestial and/or divine beings are trying to amuse themselves with where Kami is out there throwing in a pound of star dust to start off the bet with Destiny cranking up the show by using the rocks from Saturn's belt and so on and so forth. Because right now, this dramatic genre of life was abrasively stripping him off of his patience…

Usually, when he loses it, he'll go insane, grab his hair and smile freakishly and start talking about how good his next victim's blood will be and his mom will be so proud and yadda yadda yadda.

…

Honestly, he went into a personal rehab by staying solitary and eating cookies in a corner when nobody's looking…

…

Either that fact was true or not, it didn't really matter, because somehow he managed to calm himself down and take a deep mental breath to ease the building tension from within.

He knew quite well that the moment he turned Kazekage, everyone else went slack jawed but still praised his will to change. He already knew what lay behind everyone's smiling face and began pinning their clandestine thoughts by proving them all wrong. Eventually, he gained their trust.

This time, he was trying to gain the trust of someone or something that doubted him greatly so.

Since people always seemed to randomly meet up with him and go 'Oh great, you knocked that pinkette up… I bet ten bucks you guys won't last a week' kind of crap, implied or not, he was going to prove them wrong. Apparently, he felt as if he was facing destiny itself—and _damn_ was it starting to get on his nerves. Damn life and all its inevitable drama.

Relieved, yet somewhat anxious to allow life to resume its pace, he quickly recalled that Sasuke was bargaining Sakura for his Kazekage title—he mentally guffawed at that before adding in a side note of 'what a douche bag,' because he knew quite well that the Uchiha was no longer tripping… he was stumbling. Yes, that would be a major ouch for the sharingan wielder.

"Neither," spoke Gaara, breaking free from his chain of thoughts, "I plan to keep both"

With slight yet accurate expectations, Sasuke began oozing out massive blood thirst straight from his ominous chakra as he dangerously began drawing his right hand back, flooding his hand with the frantic chakra trying to regulate the intensity of the its raw power that it clawed the air with blinding light and uncanny screeches.

In under a second, Sasuke's palm buried in a hard hit.

"I win," he sneered triumphantly, "Now Sakura has to marry me."

But just because he landed a hit, it didn't entirely mean that he had the right target.

Refraining from an amused smirk to break through his cool visage, he held his voice with such smooth delivery "I don't think so,"

He didn't have to see the egotistical boy's smile fade to surprise when his sand clone began breaking away and dart towards him with such deviant patterns that topped the performance in their first battle in the Chuunin Exams. He doubled the mass of sand for… no reason at all and basically just amuse himself at the moment.

He had to admit, that for such a serious situation, he managed to find the humor in it.

Either Gaara was a very twisted man, or he had experienced far worse situations to call this scene pathetic.

He managed to trap the Uchiha in a deadly dance of more sand recoiling and break into taunting tentacles before slithering rivulets of abrasive granules began darting towards him with such an exotic beat. It was so intense and erratic that Sasuke nearly couldn't read and had to rely more on his Sharingan than he did with his sharp ninja reflexes.

Gaara remained calmly pensive as he leaned against a tree with ease, obviously hidden from view. Though robotically controlling his sand, he was mentally brooding over the fact that Sasuke had gone relentless with his selfish wants.

On a semi-cynical note, he couldn't tell which was more pathetic; the fact that Sasuke saw the great Kazekage beg Sakura to stay, or the fact that Sasuke was still pining over the girl he basically won.

However, he seemed to notice the catch the Uchiha who seemed to have the implied message that he had the potential power to renounce his title as Kazekage. It didn't sound promising or pleasant or both in any circumstance… and it disturbed him.

…

Yes, it _disturbed_ him.

Sure he was quite on edge and neurotic recently because he's nearly having a breakdown from all the stress and schedules he'd had to make up for—Oh crap, he still has to settle Naruto and his misdeeds and other hullaballoos that his group of douche bags can't give up, because of their constant whining of him being selfish and whatever, when in fact Naruto and Tsunade had done so much more than what his members could ever do in his time of absence—but that was besides the point.

What was it again? It was Sasuke and his psychotic mind that seemed to run in his genes where it schemed dangerously against him…

Yes, it sounded ridiculous to the point that he might be suffering from paranoia…

Unfortunately, this wasn't any other psychotic BAMFs he had to face.

This was an _Uchiha_.

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The first thing Sakura cares about when a patient is under her care is about their health and welfare, not their wants and specific privacies—since she knew they were all crap and these people don't really know what their dealing with—So throughout the constant declines, begs and other things patients desperately try to do to save some face, Sakura learned how to mentally shut out her sense of hearing and continue with her work until she finishes.

…

Apparently, today must be some sort of payback from how she did things back then… something like—_karma_! Oh yes, who _doesn't_ love karma?

Today, she knows someone who doesn't.

Her.

Always the doctor and never the patient, though she would admit that it is quite funny how it sounded so much better off than the usual 'always the bridesmaid and never the bride' kind of thing. After stating the obvious and replaying the stupid comparison repetitively, she'd rather go for the bridesmaid thing, because after realizing that line or have someone point it out to you, it becomes like a taboo thing where the bridesmaid eventually becomes the bride.

Right now, she'd rather have the latter situation than the privy, because she knew how mortifyingly horrible it was to be the one at your doctor's mercy.

She personally knew quite well that she didn't need anybody else to handle her body since she knows her anatomy quite well to the point where she can determine if her spleen had been poisoned or her liver—though I'm not exactly one to tell if they are relatively next to each other, but that's besides the point here. She was capable of healing herself quite well…

Tsunade strode towards her, fanning her hand in the air to dry off the hand sanitizer she applied.

"I think I should do this myself," insisted Sakura as she pressed her knees tightly against each other as a heated blush radiated from her cheeks. Her eyes found it difficult to cling on to her shishou's even gaze as she sat before her, not really reaching out to her student's sensitivities regarding such issues.

"Come now, Sakura. You really can't see it from such angle; you'll have difficulty in healing yourself. And you wouldn't want to repairs those that needn't be repaired"

"Don't talk like that, shishou," Sakura blinked, honestly having no idea with what her mentor was trying to get across but strategically decided to change the topic instead, "It doesn't suit you. I've already had my share of head aches from talking to Gaara,"

"Open up," she sternly commanded, trying her best to _patiently_ convince Sakura… if that's what you call it.

Sakura indignantly shook her head and huddled harshly against her inclined bed, legs drawn up to her chest as she slightly winced in the tearing pain; blood stained the white sheets. She froze, nervously looking up to face whatever expression Tsunade was going to violently greet her with.

She merely blinked when a click of her tongue shot the pinkette's expectations down the gutter along with the surprise of having a mirror lazily placed before her before the blonde wordlessly got up to leave her alone.

Without any further ado, she began her business by gingerly parted her legs and angling the mirror so she could get a better view of her bloodied orifice.

With a swallow, she cupped it carefully and sent a soothing wave of chakra to relieve strained muscles as she began knitting torn skin with meticulous precision. It took about a hardened fifteen minutes to be officially healed from down there.

She carefully swung her legs off the bed and landed on her feet, experimentally pacing to the door and back to her bed. She was healed. All forms of discomfort that became the source of her kinesiophobia—fear of movement—had long disappeared as if they hadn't existed in the first place.

She grabbed the mirror again, planted her left foot on the edge of her bed and awkwardly parted her vulva with two fingers on each fold, getting an all the more strange view of her... You know...

Immediately, she straightened when the door swung open. A rush of ignominy ghosted her cheeks as she lingered on the mortifying thought of getting caught.

Wasn't it already clear enough that she was in the middle of something profanely personal? Whatever happened to priva—

"Sakura," gasped Naruto, stumbling past Tsunade's restraining grasp as he ran right in front of her.

Her cheeks stung a scarlet red, both swathing her senses in both fury and shame as she hid her bloodied hand behind her. Aside from worrying about getting caught, she must've stunk in all the wrong places!

Pleasant fragrance were one of the qualities she wished to maintain by taking immediate baths after being swamped in gore after a long hard mission. Though she was mucky and caked with grime for almost ninety-five percent of the time she returned home, she managed to do her best to keep a reasonable distance away from people basing her measurements on how strongly she repugnantly smelled.

Naruto swallowed as bright blue eyes bore down into her, shoving self-consciousness back into her senses. Why was he looking at her like that?

Can he smell her?

That was disturbing…

And disgusting…

And what if he realized that he saw her observing—

"You've already named your babies?!"

She blinked.

So he tired himself and wrecked chaos just so that he can harass her privacy with some shallow question? Though it slightly relieved her that the sudden contortion of his facial expression changed due to his immature thoughts and accusations, it was far greater that being accused of carrying the stench of horror or being harassed with a question that demanded an intimate explanation that she knew she would have to make up a lie for.

Slowly, she nodded her head before Naruto began throwing a tantrum by collapsing on the floor and sobbing openly as showers of tears streamed out of his face. Guiltily, Sakura wiped her hands on her robe and reached her hand out.

This wasn't exactly an act she expected from him.

Either he was _that_ upset, or he refused to meet the image of his rightful age…

Oh well, Naruto will always be the unpredictable Naruto she had always known.

"Oh, come on Naruto," she reached her hand out with a genuine smile—only to have it interrupted when he grabbed the _unhygienic_ hand instead of the offered one. Her smile instantly froze and had trouble trying to stop her eye from twitching in disgust and anxiety.

His sobbing slowly ebbed away as he wiped his tears with the back of his now bloodstained hand before sighing heavily—totally unaware of Sakura's face turning an anomalous color of sickening green and humiliating crimson as her blood smeared across his cheek, making her stomach churn with a meal she didn't recall taking in for the past few hours… it must have been her dinner in there. But who knows?

He drew out a folded piece of paper and unfurled Sakura's fingers so that he pushed it into her grip. Again, he just had to hold one of her bloody hands when he could have just been contented with one. Oh well, as long as he never asked her why her hand was stained with blood in the first place.

"I've thought of names for both girl and boy..." he said, disappointment lay evident in his voice

"Ryuuzuki?" repeated Sakura as she came across one name in particular. Naruto nodded, she giggled and explained that Gaara had in fact used that name, instantly perking the blonde up.

"Then it's official!" grinned Naruto letting the transition from one extremity to another shine on his face.

She blinked when he excitedly grabbed her by the shoulders. What was up with this boy? Didn't he already have laborious training to somewhat stabilize his superfluous hyper activeness?

"That makes me your children's godfather, right?!" he babbled so intensely that his blaring voice shook her mind back to place.

The very fact that such statement can pamper his simple desires ultimately thawed Sakura's icy judgment regarding his puerile display. A gentle smile flooded her face with such sisterly pride over her special teammate and friend. Who knew that this was all there is to it for Naruto?

He just wanted to be her kids' godfather.

Her eyes drifted over his shoulder and on to the amused Hokage before reassuring the young blonde's hopes, it only took a matter of seconds to find herself suffocating and pressed harshly against his broad, bulky front in some form of affectionate display of gratitude. She would admit that she worried over his subtle, perverted nature because her chest was too squished against his chest, but reconsidered such thought. After all, though Naruto was a warm-blooded male, there were still more things that interested him beyond the fascinating female anatomy.

She nearly stumbled continuously behind her the moment he let her go. But long before she crashed into other equipments in the room, he caught her by her healing hand—yes. She mentally palm-faced, he grabbed her with _that_ hand _again_—and began marching down the door with ease.

In automatic panic, she dug her bare heels on the icy marble floor and began yanking herself free from his grip. Her success was short-lived when Naruto grabbed her again and began daring to top off her brute strength with his own firm Sage Chakra. It wasn't long before she pathetically lost in this tug of _limb_ war and found herself wobbling her way out of the room with the stubborn blonde leading the way.

"Let go Naruto.." she muttered as she personally began picking at his fingers in hopes of having him release her grip, but found it as difficult as a normal person trying to peel away the grip of a statue's fingers who was artistically designed to have its solid mass be shaped upon a rock, thus giving off the image that the statue was holding onto something.

So imagine trying to peel off a statue's hand off a ball—for example—even if you knew that both the hand and the ball were based on one concrete mass. Anyway, that doesn't really matter. What matters is the fact that you get the idea.

And hopefully, her mental comparison worked well this time.

"Nonsense, we'll walk up to the nurse lady at the information whatever to officially name Sakura-chan's babies!" he said as he enthusiastically swaggered towards the end of the hall.

"Naruto, _please_, I need to clean up" she begged, still trying to pull back but refrained when she felt the strain of the marble tiles threatening to crack under her wish.

He shook his head, never thinking twice about looking at her, "we shouldn't waste time, you can do that later"

"But--"

"Oh!! It's the lady from the counter-- One-chaaaan!!!" Naruto began running after the nurse who hurriedly paced farther away from them. Either she was trying to escape from public embarrassment like what Sakura's going through right now—wait… some of the people occupying the halls were her patients!!—or she was just innocently in a hurry to attend to something far more important than entertaining someone as loud as Naruto.

Sakura silently cried for help as she craned her neck to find Tsunade pitifully shaking her head at them from the opposite end of the hall.

"Oneeechaaaaan!!!!" hollered Naruto, picking up his pace as Sakura further staggered behind him.

She sighed, when she felt all eyes gaze at them as he blaringly bellowed down the usually quiet hall,

The last thing she needed now to make this nightmare worse was to have sirens stuck to their heads. But how can she forget, her hair was already as loud as those sirens and Naruto's voice…

"What the—Sakura, why's you're hand all bloody?!"

Actually, that was the last thing she needed now.

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What Gaara usually relied on defense, he sacrificed for offense. He stood his ground a little wayward east of the cascading falls as he continuously tried scurrying his sand forth to try and aim for that scroll jutting out from the somersaulting Uchiha's pocket.

The raven haired male came to a languid halt before flickering out of sight, with his shadow casting over Gaara as he hovered a few inches above the Kazekage with a kunai in hand. A mass of sand nullified the blow as it enveloped around the blade and began crawling up his hand.

The Uchiha ultimately let go, when more sand surged forth in an attempt to ram him hard against the ground. Gaara wheeled around his steps as a handful of kunais slipped past his grip and headed straight for a recovering Uchiha.

Neither one had a scratch marring their smooth skin, but Gaara was at an upper hand for not breaking a sweat just yet. The moon was gradually ascending higher in its celestial throne and the fight had yet to finish.

His Sharingan swirled to life as he drew out a stream of seals before it resulted to fire blazing the rivulet of sand charging towards him in the air. He cut the inferno and poured another set of seals just in time as the sand drove him to the ground.

He poofed into splinters of wood before Gaara sidestepped to grab a stray wrist with his sand. In a matter of seconds, he succeeded in pinning Sasuke to the ground with his sand immediately cocooning the Uchiha before he approached him.

His sand, which barely moved at all, harvested the scroll from its victim's pocket before sending it over to Gaara.

Gaara knew that this was far too easy to even bother wasting his time on had it not been for the fact that he was the wielder of a much classified document that shouldn't even exist in these lands. He lifted the scroll before his face, displaying it before Sasuke before he arrogantly tucked it away in his pocket.

"This is why I'm Kazekage... Uchiha-san"

He turned his back and began walking away.

After an impressive battle of serpents, fire, lightning, cursed seals, swords... With or without Sharingan, the Uchiha still lost to the man who didn't set foot beyond his country for the sake of becoming stronger.

He glared at the redhead long after he disappeared into the darkness. He had been struggling himself free ever since he was bound to this wretched sand. It was only now that it went slack and began pouring its once tight hold into a puddle of granules next to him.

He sat upright, a thread of curses weaving into self loathing. His only means of bargain was once again easily taken from him. His last minute, desperate attempt of winning Sakura once again failed.

He should have killed that useless Homuda when he got the chance...

For now, he will still try to get Sakura back... There must be some hope left.

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Tired eyes sealed shut by darkened lids stood out from the pallor of her tranquil face beneath the bright fluorescent light. Pale, chapped lips remained slightly parted as a stray lock of pink hair trailed to reveal its messy state scattered on the white pillow. Though she remained haggard in such state, she carried an undeniable beauty beneath it all.

On her breasts slumbered their two precious babies. Harumi's eyes fluttered open and befell on her watchful father who stood on the right of her mother's bed. She slightly giggled, wriggled and then yawned before stretching her hands around and kicked animatedly.

A smile, so small, gently graced his tired facade as he stooped down to give his daughter the kiss he had planned to peck on Sakura's wide forehead. Yes, this was what he was going to live for now. Not the swerving kiss kind of thing that would be a dead give away for how much he was dying to affectionately display to Sakura, but the fact that he was going to be a father—and hopefully a husband in the future…

Woah, double take back there.

The dude-who's-more-calloused-than-a-foot say what?

Well, let's just pretend he didn't say that as he withdrew in self denial.

Crap, he wasn't even safe from his _own _thoughts!

Perhaps logic and morality would always be lurking in the corner every now and then with duct tape or sharp weapons to test his priorities over and over again. This was what he was going to stand for. He was going to have both Sakura and his title and live prosperously 'til the day he dies.

Or until he gets to see his grandkids—

A full stomp on the brakes there!

He could barely imagine himself being Sakura's proper man and he's off looking forward to grandkids?!

_*coughs* in denial *coughs*_

…

Well, it's not that _he_ has any problems with it… Never mind.

He didn't fear that thought anyway…

Well, that sounded reassuring. He didn't _have_ to take a hard left from his thoughts, when he was subtly, glossing over the possible thought of being in Sakura's future—man, he should really stop diving deeper in his thoughts now. Anyway, he got his vague idea, and with or without Sakura in the future, he will live to see the day he gets grandkids.

The baby cooed a little louder as it trailed off to long mewls, stirring Sakura from he sleep and Gaara from his reverie. She slowly parted her eyes and readjusted the hold on their babies and he shook his head away to clean his mind like one of those etch-a-sketch… es? Etch-a-sketches or etch-a-sketch, whatever was grammatically correct at the moment, he was fine with it as long as his mind was blank enough to be with his body.

"Gaara.." her voice croaked before she cleared her throat in slight shame. She struggled to sit upright when he took Harumi to cradle in his arms.

"What happened?" she asked, quickly unbuttoning her robe to press a bare chest for Ryuuzuki to suckle on. Gaara watched in mild amusement, a twinge of envy stirred his heated loins before he easily fended off the feeling. Maybe having his thoughts blind him for a moment would help…

But right now, he knew that if he dare dove back in his sea of thoughts, he'd be seeing something rather sinfully carnal that has everything to do with Sakura right now.

He tore his attention away from her breast and looked her in the eye instead, "Sasuke was bribing me with the document I signed in Sound"

"What?"

He gently hushed her before continuing, unconsciously drifting away from sinful thoughts, "But I managed to get it back and destroy it,"

"Oh," she muttered in ease. He sat on the bed, turning his attention to his daughter when she gently fisted in his coat and tried to stuff the garment in her mouth. He gently brushed her tiny lips with his pinky before she grabbed it and hungrily suckled it. Alas, a piece of innocence that kept him clean.

"Now what...?" she dared ask

"Did you--"

"I already got their birth certificates," she instinctively added, "Naruto dragged me down there, quite glad that you named our son Ryuuzuki, else he'd go insane. He insisted to be our children's godfather..."

Gaara involuntarily stared with such an intense gaze that he shoved her into a state of consciousness long before he caught himself, "Sakura..."

"Yeah...?"

"Do you..." Oh, seriously, he can't have that exposed to the un-erasable present… "Never mind," he averted his eyes, watching Harumi even out his gaze. He would admit that she got his look and it amused him.

A spark of curiosity overwhelmed Sakura before she let his hanging question deeply embed into the corner of her memory. She reached out for the hand that cradled Harumi and affectionately gripped it.

Such action made Gaara turn his head. She knew it was his silent demand for her to reason out her doings. So she babbled in panic and snatched her hand back from his, "I find his pink hair cute"

He remained unfazed before deciding to go with the flow, "Let's hope it darkens as he age"

Sakura's fitful of giggles broke out from a rude snort before she calmed down. "Ne, pan-chan, you look so cute with panda-dad, mm?"

Her daughter mewled in innocent agreement. After shortly realizing that _pan_-chan was a shortcut for _panda_ Gaara snapped, "don't insult your daughter"

She giggled with the baby; she scrunched her face as she calmed down. With gentle force, Gaara shoved Sakura a little over to the side so that he squashed to next to her; she squealed when she fell over, he grabbed her arm with his sand catching her rump just in time. Ryuuzuki remained undisturbed as he continued suckling.

Sakura sighed in relief before darting Gaara a very reprimanding look, which he easily rolled off. He hated it when the tables turn and have everything that was once on your side now go against you. Desperately turning to Harumi for an alternative, he spoke, "tell your mom to stop burning a hole through daddy,"

Sakura's face lit up. "Daddy?" she repeated before tickling Gaara's side who slightly jerked in response. They both froze and looked at each other; Sakura was the one wearing a harlequin mask this time and he didn't like that at all.

"Stop it," he muttered

"The great Kazekage is ticklish," she mused before she reached out to poke his side again, only he managed to slide off bed first and head straight for the door.

"Coward!" she hollered playfully

He shut the door behind him

"Gaara?" she repeated, her smile growing softer.

Long unnerving silence.

"Gaara?" her voice fell a little more uncertain now, she scrambled out of bed and exited the room, fixing her robe when Ryuuzuki had already dozed off in her arms. She crept down the quiet hall and cupped her mouth with her free hand.

"Gaara!" she whispered aloud. With a click of her tongue, she scratched her head and began her search, "Gaara?!"

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"You're five months pregnant and everyone knows, only Hinata knows who the real father is," began Tsunade as she folded her arms across her chest

Ino slumped against her seat; the brown envelope lay on her lap as she hung her head low. Wasn't it already obvious enough that nobody else can know? Well, unless she explains everything, Tsunade might probably understand. And no, she wouldn't dare open her mouth for such… fact.

"You'd be needing his consent before I can get you through this," explained Tsunade

Ino shook her head defiantly, "he doesn't have to know,"

The Hokage sighed, "You can at least tell me who the father is... That way I can be aware of what chakra basis I should and shouldn't use, you know?"

Tell her who the father is… Is she _crazy_?! Has she seen how Sasuke's doing lately?! She already tried approaching him and confess, when he _politely_ told her to leave him alone because he had no time for short-tempered fan-cows to stalk him.

If he was already pissed off, then what more would she get out of him if she sang?

Would he deny her? Tell her to back off? To never see him again? And the worse won't even dare cross her mind.

But still, can't Tsunade at least know? This was for the sake of their child after all… if he can't stomach it upfront… what if it spilled as a rumor in Konoha and have him confront her instead?

And then what?

With a sigh, Ino looked up, "S..." the name barely reached past her lips as she bit her lower lips and looked down. Maybe she couldn't risk that information right now…

Tsunade patiently tilted her head to the side as keen eyes bore deeply into her. "Sasuke?"

Too late.

Ino jerked her head up with wide eyes, "I didn't say that!" she denied defensively

She narrowed her hazel eyes, "but you didn't say that it wasn't..." a victorious smirk settled on her lips as the Hokage calmed down for the sake of Ino, "he should thank you"

The younger blonde drooped, growing sluggish by the second, "what for? Ruining their already ruined relationship?"

"For saving his bloodline and from heartbreak..."

"But what about Sakura?"

"Yeah?"

A voice suddenly chirped in the room. The two blondes turned to Sakura with equal tension.

"Well, I was looking for Gaara but..." she slowly turned back to Ino with a grin, "what was it about me?"

Ino shook her head, which was fluttering in the absence of words. Sakura mirthfully narrowed her eyes, slightly swaying as she lulled her stirring son back to sleep, "you're not spreading another rumor about me are you?"

"I wish it was as shallow as that," muttered the young blonde

Unfortunately hearing that, Sakura fell intrigued, "Why, what's it about?"

Ino cringed before rising to her seat. "Well, well, what do you know? It is getting kinda late, thank you Hokage-sama, bye Sakura, baby-kun"

And she darted to the exit.

Sakura stood there, her frozen smile faltering to bits. Tsunade sighed and swung her weight off the desk, planting a palm on her shoulder before she left.

"I know you heard everything..." began Tsunade, "it would be best if you gave him to her..."

With that, Sakura was left alone in the quiet room, save for Ryuuzuki's hearty yawn.

After all those months of unknown secrecy, she finally knew who Ino's mystery father was... But it didn't exactly strike her that she'd target such person...

Sakura should probably be happy about it—because now, Sasuke won't be left alone when she makes room for a new life with Gaara by her side. Sasuke won't have to be alone again after she leaves him… he would have another person to heal him and finish up the stitches Sakura began in his heart.

With a family already waiting for him, it was all that he needed to move on and just thank Sakura for being a part of his life for just a fleeting moment. Maybe, it was time that she'd have to also forget his status as a boyfriend, because right now, Life was already paving a smooth path for everyone she walked with.

Maybe it was time to take a different lane and wave Sasuke and their past goodbye.

Maybe it was time to go through the transitory tunnel and officially agree that her future with Gaara is the right way for her…

Maybe that was how her life was supposed to go…

But... Why did it suddenly seem so hard to let go?

She already saw something like this happen. Actually, this was the best alternative she never even thought of… so it _should_ be easier to move on…

"Sakura?" a deep, comforting voice came from behind the door as it gently swung open.

She turned slowly, and blinked away the blurriness that obscured her vision; it tickled her cheeks as it warmly ran down her skin.

Gaara gently thumbed her tears away, "why are you crying?"

Stifled giggles escaped her lips as she forced an awkward smile on her lips before she pressed against his warm chest, reminding herself of the better path she knew she truly deserved.

"Why did you come out now..?" she whispered

Gaara's hand pressed her securely against his chest, absorbing all her negativities as he flooded her with his comfort. Seeing her like this was far more painful than having a chidori through his chest. Instantly, he regretted having to walk out on her childish antics. He loved her for that, but he had to walk away to remain somewhat distant.

Apparently, doing that crushed his barrier of feelings he tried to restrain from her, making him slowly succumb to his unheard sensitivity. Tightening his one-armed hug, he hushed her and whispered, "I'm here now..."

She nodded, "Yeah... You're here now"

"Stop crying..." muttered Gaara, unsure if he should just let that statement or command speak for itself—when he suddenly heard Harumi's sharp sob, "you're making her cry..."

_To express or not to express_, mused an annoyed Gaara, _that is the question…_

Sakura nodded, "I'm with you now..."

_Hmm… that sounded nice,_ smiled Gaara… Yes, she was with him now.

Perhaps it should stay like that for a moment.

Let Gaara learn to embrace expression and let Sakura learn to move on. It was a learning experience from the two of them, and right now, they needed each more than they really thought was enough.

Starting tonight, a crucial point had been made and that had been beautifully executed by Life and Fate and Kami and whatever or whoever weaved the two's story together _(*coughs* that would be me *coughs*) _to point out that there are things that are needed to be left in turn for something better.

This was called _balance_, the little something that made life bittersweet.

It can either be a delightful pull to yank a person out of a miserable slump or random tidbits to throw in depression when life seemed too good to be true. Because in the end, there will never by a common ground between two extremities unless you twisted fate to experience the harsh taste of life's other secret ingredient.

This time, it wasn't Life's Irony—that was for Gaara to groan in annoyance and the Kami to laugh at—but _Pyrrhic victory_ to awaken Sakura from her dreamy life and take on the realities of life with a mature outlook.

After all, life is never a stroll in the park, but a rollercoaster of wrong turns and right moves.

Life isn't only there to be full of suffering; it is there to remind to not only exist, but to _live_ as well.

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**A/N**: I can call this chapter _THE END_ if it really was the end!

Wahahahah!!! I got you didn't you? I bet you were worried that this story is over because, frankly, the ending doesn't feel like an ending to the story at all, but rather a dark evil hint that there's still more!! Or is there? *brow waggle*

And there will be, if you guys let me feel how strongly you protest to the idea of leaving the story here, which left you guys unsatisfied!

Wahahahaha!!!

Though… I can't promise another four chapters—or less of continuation… maybe three… or two… or one—for this because I will reveal to you that this story is ninety-four percent finished, which is an accurate calculation of how many more chapters there are to the end of the story.

Unless you're _that_ excited and curious, you'd do the math, if you're not, then let's just hope that I'm convinced enough to carry off my keyboard and weave this story to a finishing blow that will hopefully give you a fresh of breath air from life's realities…

If you've noticed, for the past few chapters, I have been mentioning a lot about life, destiny and all the other things. That was because I was trying to reach out to you guys via the story to try to appreciate the way things go… You know, kind of like training wheels that will soon be removed once this story is done—but whatever, it's not like you guys will stop reading fanfics because they're awesome! And you'll be hearing—correction: reading more from me!!! ^^

Hehehe…

Oh well, let me wrap it up. Review to beckon a chapter out of me.

Yes, I'm still quite evil… but don't hate me for it—I'll be nice enough to throw in an epilogue—oops, too much said.

'Kay gotta go!!!!

u


	17. Epilogue

**Warning:** It has lemons… what more should I say… =,=;;;

**Epilogue**

How do you break up with a man who had a family history of schizophrenia?

Do you: a, give him a cookie, make him happy then you say it's over?

B, say that it's over and run away quickly

Or C, apologize to him with noodle alphabets for breakfast after breaking his limbs last night and later on give him a strong dosage of heroin so dense that he wouldn't even remember going out with you.

Apparently, Sakura was no expert and her mind had been amped up to overdrive for the past thirty minutes, because a few minutes later, she'd have to make closure with Sasuke.

Gasps.

Oh no, how tragic.

Frankly, I never really liked Sasuke, but it doesn't mean that I hate him. It just so happened that he had gone far too possessive and selfish after having his first girlfriend that he could no longer define love from obsession. Perhaps after the grand Uchiha massacre had happened, he had been scarred for life and feared losing his loved one.

Fine, that was reasonable. But did that mean he could _own_ Sakura?

Have you ever noticed how much of a douche bag he's been with her? He was holding on to her tighter than Gai's green spandex that he was mentally pushing her away than intended. And yes, the saying is true that the more one person holds on to another by force, the more they let go from your grip—take Sakura for instance.

Because she just felt Sasuke's obsession more than she did his love, she sought Gaara's comfort and grew contented with him. Fortunately for Sakura, she learned something from Sasuke, but now feared how he was going to take it.

After all, Sasuke was a man who took no for an answer.

Hopefully, he'd take it maturely… and what if he didn't?

He could always—

"Sasuke!" Sakura grinned rigidly as she awkwardly took a sip of her lukewarm tea.

He quietly sat in front of her and kept a keen gaze, making it difficult to lock eyes with him. With the tea cup still pressed to her lip, she shot her hand up and ordered sweets.

"I don't like sweets." Muttered Sasuke

She could barely swallow from anxiety that she choked when she forced the mouthful of tea down her throat, earning suspicious looks from the raven-haired male.

"How are you?" she managed to gasp after recuperating from her gagging fit that she found too embarrassing to recall.

He didn't answer.

She didn't like that. Hastily, she downed her cup of tea before mentally cursing her only source of distraction. They sat in silence facing each other where Sakura couldn't tell which was more awkward, the silence or the fact that the lone Uchiha was obviously staring at her.

This made it all the more difficult for her to speak.

How should she start the conversation when her first attempt already failed miserably?

Her order already came in—two plates of dango—where it lay untouched in their plates. Her apprehension drove her body to a state of discomfort as it began flipping switches to aggravate her situation. Under his stare, she began to sweat profusely in the cool Dango Shop.

Oh dear lord, how should she do this?

Should she try to be reasonable with him? Ask how he's feeling with their relationship? Or go bastard like Sasuke when he left her after she begged him to stay for nearly half an hour or so.

"You're nervous,"

"What makes you think that?" she chuckled nervously before catching herself, immediately stating Sasuke's point by her mere stupid reflexes.

"Do you have something to say?"

How can he be so calm when he can already sense the ominous situation that promised nothing but grief on his part?

But this wasn't something she should be wondering about. She should be wondering why she was procrastinating with feigning anxiety, when she was fully aware that she needed to do this to settle the storm she brewed first.

"Actually," she began, gently setting her tea cup down, "I do"

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"How dare you lie to us!"

"How dare you betray us!"

"How dare you run off like that!"

The entire court erupted into a confusion of constant bickering and howling of deception in the hall. Papers flew from here and there as the scattered on the floor.

But it didn't disturb him. Oh no, this did _not_ disturb Gaara no Sabaku.

What disturbed him was how stupid was this whole court going to get. They were basically arguing with him over nothing? He didn't lie, he didn't betray anyone and certainly did _not_ 'run off like that'. And because of these empty accusations, his title was at stake?

There, in the middle of the massive court was where he sat, perpendicular to a long table occupied by his council men. Aging eyes scanned the room as they waited for peace to reign yet again, but the volume of the noise dragged on to a more chaotic level that threatened to the point of untamable measures.

If they were hoping to break the Kazekage with this uncoordinated pandemonium, they should have guessed again, since he was recently roaming the depths of his mind until reason managed to reel him out of his trance--

"Silence!" roared a female voice, all heads turned to the door. A female blonde sweeped the room with hard hazel eyes whose fingers began jabbing accusations to the guilty.

Gaara wondered if there was a hidden camera somewhere, because he honestly felt disgusted by the exaggerated drama going on around him. He didn't really have time for this childish stupidity, nor did he have time for drama that didn't fit in this area with these people—save for Tsunade, she earned some integrity for all the harshness life threw her into.

But nonetheless, he knew something—or someone in particular—will finally save him from this useless crap happening in the court.

With a stomp of her foot, all murmurs died to silence as the room groaned upon the massive eruption caused by the stomp of her foot. The ceiling drew lines to its walls, spider webbing its way to the floor until it died to nothingness. She dominated the courtroom that way; bending their attention to her dangerous presence was how she got things done back in Konoha.

She began her valiant swagger down the aisle bordered by rows and rows of wooden benches, where her distinct footfalls tapping the ground, until she sat herself on a seat behind a desk Gaara occupied.

Two Kages sat together, nodding into the other's greeting before sternly turning to the group behind the longer table. He had to refrain from smiling and mentally prepared himself so that he wouldn't have to keep relying on Tsunade's help when it came to taming his men.

"I would like to point out that Gaara of the Sand, the Kazekage, had to run off in secrecy in order to save his only possible deserving bloodline. To waste the perfect batch of heir and my effort to better his lineage would have turned for the worse if he decided against his proper actions.

"As we all know, it was risky. But it was worth every effort. Had he not, it would have been an insult to me since it had been an honor to have my best student chosen to be assigned such position--"

"It was never meant to be! He ran off and your shinobi deceived us by pretending to be the Kazekage who signed classified documents regarding a war between--

"With all due respect, sir" Tsunade cut in, "I do not wish to have heard your message as an insult. But alas, we can not risk our vulnerable time arguing at a time like this and putting your leader on a hot seat in the midst of an on going war. Peace it is at the moment, but perhaps the day after tomorrow we might be caught off guard.

"Please let us use our time wisely on strategizing our next move than have two strong allies bickering at each other." Tsunade kept a keen eye fixated on every elder, "And before you wish to do anything else reckless, can you really risk losing a very great leader who save two nations in under one night?"

_Nice_, mused Gaara as he felt the dawn of realization flooding the room with rightful silence on his behalf as he tasted the sweet nectar of justice.

Yes, Justice, something that came by ever so rarely.

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She felt empty… yet contented.

Somehow, Sakura managed to end it well.

She couldn't even remember how, but at least, she managed to end it with such grace and respect that she earned Sasuke's trust again and brought them together in a much closer friendly relation. Yes, nothing more than friends again.

She sank on the edge of her bed, switching back to manual mode after an autopilot and gazed at the two cribs positioned adjacent from each other as they were once situated in the right corner of the room after she dragging them to the king-sized bed's right.

She was in the room in which Gaara suggested they all share until the babies have grown old enough to acquire their own. Simply speaking, they were in Gaara's room.

She rested her right arm on Harumi's crib and her left on Ryuuzuki's as she rested her chin in the midst of her intertwined fingers. She had been ignoring the massive heap of presents for the babies piled in the middle of his room, feeling quite nauseas about unwrapping them all and cleaning up after the mess.

The baby shower was only yesterday, and she'd admit that everything was going smooth and quickly that she could lose track of time if she wasn't careful.

Instead of going for the presents now and dealing with all the future mess threatening to dirty the honorable Kazekage's room—since it would be such an embarrassing thing to do— she decided to further lengthened the time she spent with the two sleeping babies, in other words, procrastinate in the mean time.

Besides, what could outmatch her attention from those adorable buttons all cute and wrapped up in baby blankets as their round faces ignited another adoring charm.

She sighed as a smile eased off her lips.

She didn't know why, but looking at these two angels would summon Gaara into her mind. And the more she thought about it, the more she felt herself falling harder for Gaara by the minute.

She shook her head, before lying down on her back to calm down the demanding ache that dared to tie a knot on her back. Maybe it was the dawn of vulnerability threatening to haunt her sanity—but no, she wasn't too pathetic to give in.

…

But _come on_! How can she not think of him when she's in his room with _their_ babies!?

…

She supposed that she was agreeing to the idea that she wouldn't mind staying with Gaara...

She'd probably start living with her new family, and watch them grow...

Wasn't it a bit of an unspoken promise she and Gaara made some time ago? If so, then why was she suddenly feeling so guilty?

Scarcely meeting up with her friends in Konoha would certainly not be the case—but checking back on reality, it really was the case. Because now, she was going to sacrifice her other loved ones to make way for her new loved ones, ones that she'll officially be calling a _real _family of her own.

Sure those friends were also family but this one was blood bonded this time—and staying with Gaara meant staying in Sand… Did that mean having to surrender her duties in the hospital and sacrifice her duty as a ninja to serve Konoha..?

She barely made it to the peak of her career... Was she willing enough to surrender everything just for her children...?

She supposed as a mother, they'd need her...

Sasuke... As randomly as it jumped into her mind, she was hauled back to her starting point, but then resisted her situation with the help of her maturity. She knew she'd need closure with him—wait a minute! She already did that!

See! She could already feel herself breaking down at that very moment!! First Konoha, second, her duties, third her friends and finally Sasuke… These were all factors that became her foundation, and here she was having to renovate the things she stood up for…

Well for Sasuke, Ino would be there for him...

And when he finally comes around to _his_ senses, he'd realize that he already has a family waiting for him: Ino and their unborn child...

Perhaps, if he gave them the chance to stitch him back to pieces, then he'd come to love them just as she had come to love Gaara and their babies. And then everyone would be happy again! It's a win-win situation.

Had Sakura have any idea how she was thinking right now, I'm sure she'd bang her head on the ground for being a little too optimistic again—she sounded too unrealistic and made things sound better than they should really be. Sure she and Sasuke would part ways and be happy with their family, but she wasn't one to say that it was a _win-win_ situation.

…

Or perhaps it didn't sound as bad as she apprehended it to be. Swinging off the bed, she darted towards the heap of gifts and began ripping away the wrappers in search of one thing she could use at the moment: strollers.

And probably attend the meeting with them, the meeting that she and her babies need to be at with Gaara to have some contract done and officially select who the rightful heir should be. After all, that was the reason why they had to go through all this trouble all along, right?

Her deeds were cut short by a pair of warm strong arms binding her waist against a broad warm plain that tentatively pressed against her back; a sweet tingling sensation nibbling her earlobe caught her off guard and succumbed to ease and familiarity.

She fell limp against his grip as her head lolled to the side and her eyes shut tight. "Gaara..." she sighed

He came to a gentle pause to rest his chin atop her head as he turned them both to face the two cribs by the bed. Comfortable silence wove beyond their delight as pride swelled in both their chests.

"It's like living in a beautiful dream..." it didn't take long for his mind to register what he just said. He hated it when he said those mushy things aloud… it somehow questioned his… _manliness_. Oh yeah, it really did. After all, just because he fully registered his new weakness into his life, didn't mean he can be sensitive all the time now…

A soft smile graced her lips as she gently placed her hands atop Gaara's. "How did the trial go?"

"Tsunade-sama saved me..."

Her cheeks pulled her smile wider as she nodded carefully, savoring his presence. "When's the next meeting?"

"Three hours later..." he said quite monotonously

They stood there for a while, with his thumb gently tracing a pattern on her skin when it innocently slipped past the hem of her shirt. She slowly submitted to delight as he breathed into her hair.

"You smell nice..." he remarked

"Its baby smell..." she hummed, slightly apprehending the hand that inevitably crawled up higher to her chest. Her hands sensually slid up around his neck and massaged his scalp.

"That feels nice..." he muttered, his mind raging to an earlier memory bashfully hiding in the corner of his mind before the delightful feel of her skin beckoned that memory and unlocked the key to his Pandora's box, where sensations swarmed his heating body with touches he had almost forgotten—swallowing audibly before he drew his hand back and defiantly tore away from her, a quick apology rang in the air.

Gaara quickly paced to his bathroom and gently closed the door, leaving Sakura alone with surprise. Worriedly, she walked up to the door and slowly knocked, "Everything fine..?" she whispered

"Yes," he answered after silence lingered for a while, leaning on the door as he tilted his head back.

Oh. My. God.

He was seconds away to tearing her clothes off. He needs to keeps himself in check every now and then, but how could he when he was free to hold her that close? How could he when it felt great to have her return his affection?

"What's wrong?"

What's wrong? He scoffed, what was wrong?

…

Actually, he didn't know what was wrong.

"I…" his words trailed off, before he quickly picked them up, "I didn't mean to touch you like that..."

He screwed his eyes shut and mouthed curses as he punched and kicked the air out of frustration. That was the _stupidest_ fucking thing he had ever said!

"Why not?"

He scoffed, "Because you've just given birth..."

Okay… umm… "And..."

Great, what was he supposed to say next? "I wouldn't like to degrade you to a sexual object"

What the _hell_ was that?! What the _hell_ did he even _mean_? Sexual object? Puh-lease, he knew he could do better than that. He was capable of conjuring white lies that magnificently manipulates the whole situation… but seriously, can he really do that while fighting to control his winning hard on?

She raised a brow. His perception was very intriguing. He was concerned about a wound that no longer existed and the unconsciously inevitable view in which most men consider women to be. She wasn't offended; she was greatly moved by how greatly he respected her.

"You aren't, Gaara... And I've already recovered..." she sighed and rested her forehead against the door.

She slightly jumped when the door swung open and froze when Gaara towered before her. With careful words, he spoke, "You want to do this"

It was a sentence that had a fine distinction between a statement and a question. And frighteningly enough, it weighed towards the scale of the statement… not that it bothered her.

She dumbly nodded quite too eagerly before he cradled her head and stooped down, entrancing her with a gentle stroke of the tongue. Oh how she loved it when he did that

"I want to show you how much I love you..." he whispered huskily against her lips plunging a tad bit deeper into her mouth. Pathetic or not, if Honesty was to be put to the test, it shamed his Pride quite well.

She mewled against his aggressive approach as he rammed her tongue back into her cavern to fully massage her orifice and swim experimentally about. Her knees buckled the moment he pressed her down the bed, crawling above her as he smoothly unbuckled his gourd. She didn't know how they got to his bed or what he's been doing, but whatever it was that he did was more than she really imagined off of him.

Her hands fisted locks of his hair from time to time as he tilted his head to dive deeper into her mouth to shoot a pang of indescribable pleasure searing down her spinal column; she moaned, legs instantly wrapping eagerly around his waist.

He pushed his hips gratingly against hers that sent sparks of desire to ignite the tumbling lust boiling deep within their loins. He grunted. She mewled before he hushed her with a heated, deeper and more dominant kiss.

He busied her mouth with his torrid, curious tongue as he stealthily began divesting her from clothes that by the time he unclasped her bra he lightly squeezed her free breast, deviously smirking against her hungry kisses to realize that they were dripping with milk.

He bent down and flicked her taut nipple with a tongue to taste her sweetness; she shuddered against such raw sensation as her back arched to emit a whimper breaking free from her throat.

He nipped at her sensitive bud before latching on to them and suckled in vigor. She felt the rush of liquid squeeze out of her breast as blood rushed to her head in dizzying bliss. She pulled his head against her chest and hooked her ankle on his shoulder as his hardened shaft pressed against her sensitive bud.

He pulled away and began nibbling her other breast, teeth raking the sensitized pink flesh as he seduced milk out of her. She gasped yet again when he teasingly began rolling his hips against hers, both shuddering in delight at the sweltering abrasion.

She began tearing at his clothes in a needy attempt of reduce him to nudity. He hastily pulled away and began stripping layers of clothing to fall behind him before ravaging Sakura's fleshy mounds for a fleeting moment before he teasingly teethed the rim of her delicate lips, tracing her earlobes with his warm tongue; a breathless gasp slightly punctured his self control as one hand slipped down, slightly touching her nether region with a quivering finger.

He groaned as heated lust eagerly made a beeline past the garter of his burgundy boxers now straining against his hardened shaft: she soaked through her panties. She shuddered in anticipation as legs slightly jerked around his waist with an experimental rub circulating her sensitive bundle of nerves.

Her steady calm breath broke down in chains of shallow gasps as a sheen layer of sweat began coating her, he watched her with an intense gaze as he sped up to watch her face scrunch in breathless delight, nails dug into his strong arms as her legs began flailing around now that weren't bound to his waist as hips began jerking randomly in liberation.

Then he slowed down, his manhood standing taller and throbbing massively through wired veins under the fabric as he felt the pad of his middle finger begin to wrinkle from her dampness. She pressed her head hard against his bed, half-lidded eyes glazed with lust gazed back at him as she sighed and turn her head with closed eyes, blind with enchantment.

She bit her lower lip, gasping when he stripped her panties off her. He palmed her hips down, thumbs tracing the fringe of coarse curls as his aching steely flesh suddenly missed the sensation of sinking deep into her orifice.

He looked back at her, face flushed with lust and desire, exciting him all the more with the fact that only he can make her like this and no one else. Not even Sasuke.

Huskily, he asked, "Remember our first time that night?"

She shook her head quite frantically. He slightly frowned, "well then, I'll make this memorable"

He stooped down, mouth watering when he accidentally breathed in her scent. His face flushed in slight timidity before he experimentally dragged a broad tongue from her nub down to her orifice--

She whimpered, legs terribly trembling in shooting delight at the unorthodox action. His flexible muscle massaged her, flicking her clit with delight as it continuously reigned seconds of blinding carnal bliss before he dipped slightly in her orifice that caused her to drip a little more than before.

Boldly and curiously, he sank his tongue between her tight walls and--

"Oh..." she fisted in locks of his hair as her hips jerked up in its own accord. The soft muscle entered her with a hard resolved before expanding as he withdrew, setting a rhythm that quickly got her fidgeting at his mercy.

The moment his jaw grew tired of such an adventurous act, he pulled away, unaware that she was only a matter away from cumming. She whined in protest before falling silent when she watched Gaara gaze at her with tremendous tension.

Her insides anxiously boiled at the sight of deep chiseled chest and beautifully accentuated abs--muscles that jutted out from his moist skin as deep crevices sexily accumulated beads of sweat from anticipation as well. He slightly cringed as he removed his boxers, shaft springing free from its hold.

Gingerly he bent down to Sakura who reached out for him with firm arms that pulled him into a suddenly dominant kiss; she invaded his moist cavern with a tense tongue, rubbing viciously at his delicious one before he retaliated with an even greater gusto.

She mewled in defeat as her head spun in nauseating ecstasy. His teeth raked her tongue as his he drew her left fleshy thigh up; her ankle instinctively hooked itself on his shoulder as he positioned himself at her entrance.

He pulled back softly as he began sliding into her, carefully watching her face contort to relaxing pleasure that came short with apprehension. He, too, halted in mild astonishment upon the sudden barrier he brushed against.

"Darn," breathed Sakura, "I think I accidentally healed that one too..."

A devious smirk graced his lips, "then let me take you again..."

He stabbed through her, watching her face erotically contort to virginal pain. Though he wasn't exactly planning to hurt her again, the simple idea of taking her virginity twice made him all the more possessive. He winced in breathless pleasure when tighter walls squeezed against him, ultimately shaking unrestrained bliss to run through his body; he groaned.

He gently latched onto Sakura's bottom lip, suckling it before he slid his lips against her to grab her attention. He gently kissed her, tongue diving into her mouth yet again as he exaggeratingly swirled his tongue around hers, mollifying his initial pained effect with comfort.

He drew back slowly, feeling her damp skin race away against his before rubbing forcefully as he jerked himself back in after a few inches. She whimpered in pain and he stopped once more, enticing her sweet tongue to dance with his for a few moments' time.

He memorized her comfortable grip on his throbbing member as he lingered motionlessly within her, until his demanding piece of rigid flesh demanded action. His lips wove its way to her neck before he breathed in her scent, humping in slight friction against her.

He pressed his head on the soft sheets next to her head so that her mouth was next to his ear. He withdrew slightly and sank deep into her again, grunting in pleasurable guilt when she whimpered painfully against his ear.

Setting a quick shallow pace he pumped slightly as he listened to her quietly voice out her pain as he inwardly promised her bliss in the near future. With each pump, he listened intently and kept his impulse in bay until his perseverance rewarded him with a gentle mewl and her sudden bold movement to move in sync with his hips.

He drew back further and sank in deeper--

"_Gaara_" she mewled. He groaned in both relief and further arousal as he pushed himself up to watch her and push deeper into her with a patient pace. Her brows furrowed in delight as drooping lids struggled to evenly gaze at him.

She blushed harder beneath him when she suddenly grew aware of his weight. Once again, he lifted one fleshy thigh and slung her leg over his shoulder before they both gasped at the sudden depth that sucked him further into her and him prodding a new level within.

He drew out further and forcefully held his primal urge to ram harder into her. He bit in his whimper when he heard the naughty slick noise whenever he slid in and out.

"Gaara..."

She tensed under his hold, toes curling as she voiced out the magnitude of unbearable pleasure racking through her system. She'd spasm whenever he sat himself deep into her again, her breathing labored as a moan tore through her throat.

Her eyes finally rolled at the back of her head as he massaged harder against her tight, damp and fleshy canal; he propped his arms around her head and pressed his forehead against hers, slightly feeling his control waver when he could feel the vibration of her moan reach out to him.

He sudden prodded quickly into her, with the impulsive need to watch her break loose and cum before him. He clamped her lips tight with his teeth and dragged his tongue around them before he dove in for a kiss as he grunted and she mewled as they drowned in the magnitude of their growing bliss when suddenly she arched her back off the bed, and swallow him further into her depths.

An unrestrained gasp echoed distinctly in the room accompanied by the constant noise of wet flesh smacking against wet flesh, she quivered under each calm thrust as she winced with more pronounced tension. He groaned when he felt that tension tightly wound against his shaft intensify each time he dove back in.

He hushed her when she began moaning louder than the last, not wanting to wake anyone up. He fell quiet and began holding back his wanton need to succumb to pleasure and increase his speed as he soldiered on with such tormenting pace.

"Faster," she begged breathlessly before her face contorted signaling her tumbling nearness.

He ignored her and continued pumping with his stubborn pace as he watched her mouth fall open, moans overflowing mellifluously out of her mouth as her hands searchingly roamed the sheets in an unconscious need to grip something until she found her way to grab his hair.

It was no use hushing her now as her tantalizing orgasm began taking over her. He watched, suddenly choking out his moan when she began to tighten ecstatically around him. He fought his early release as he furrowed his brows, studiously watching Sakura suddenly fall silent and rigid.

He lowered himself near her and grunted when she pressed her forehead against his shoulders, clinging on to him for dear life. Waves of euphoric sensation rubbing deliciously from her core stumbled through every inch of her body. She had long exchanged the necessity of oxygen to last longer and savor the feel of such beautiful wonder raking through her system that left her unexplainably blissful.

As he kept his hypnotic pace within her, tension upon tension began building up as she grew more sensitive to each thrust as it gradually began tearing down her firm hold until it poured out a layer that fully sensitized the sensation. One by one her senses shut down, contributing to that one area that connected them both.

No longer able holding her breath, she gasped out then quickly drew in a breath that elevated the gliding sensation, her body tingled and she held her breath again until she drew in another. She pressed her head back down on the bed and mewled, drawing another breath that fueled the tantalizing friction to fully ignite her--Oh!

She began thrashing her head side to side as she uncontrollably began to spasm, her leg began jerking wildly as she undulated brokenly under him her vision fully dimmed and her head fluttered in foreign exhilaration as she finally acknowledged the building pressure racking against his prodding shaft until it drained all sensation from her body into a tight coil that burst into shrapnels of bliss that coursed through her veins, unwinding tense muscles as she fell limp beneath him while ascending into that level of momentary elation.

Her tight grip that momentarily clutched his shaft before falling slack cut his string of patience as he found himself finally speeding up, the rhythmic slap against her skin accelerated to a flurry of frantic beats that yanked Sakura into another round nearing her second release.

He groaned before gnashing his mouth against Sakura's to silence to her amplifying moans. His constant friction had long cut away his indifference to his stroke as he felt his self driven lust burn his abdomen and thighs as his sacs coiled. He grunted and pushed her calves down against the bed and far apart forming a wide 'V', straightening her legs with ease as they both moaned into the other's mouth.

He prodded into another depth into her as he began setting frantic thrusts, pounding senselessly into her as she began jerking her hips in sync with his. His nails began bruising her calves as her nails began digging harshly against his skin as he rode her with a maddening pace and then his senses shut down with that one area throbbing into his system... He felt it so close... Just a few--

"Sakura" he grunted, shuddering violently upon her sudden brutal clamp that began milking every drop out of him as he forcefully jerked in and out from tip to base until he collapsed carelessly on top of her, hips faintly humping... Never stopping until he hardened yet again...

A small whimper far higher than what Sakura can resonate echoed in the room. The two immediately froze and looked at the two cribs. One of them began shaking as a tiny fist waved in the air.

Gaara immediately rolled off Sakura, kissing her intently before grabbing his clothes, hopping into his pants as he raced to gingerly pick Harumi up from the crib and set a gentle sway that was sure to lull her to sleep.

"It's okay, it's okay," he reassured the newborn but failed to cease her sharp wail before he glided towards Sakura, deftly sitting his nude lover up and pressing the baby's mouth against her mother's breast.

The dazed Sakura reeled back to her senses as she automatically took her daughter from Gaara as she fed her before Ryuuzuki began wailing next.

Gaara attentively brought his son over and position him to suckle on his mother's other breast. Finally, silence resumed, save for the constant smacking of two babies feeding.

"You just had to be loud," he sighed, a small smirk yanking the corners of his lips which he miserably fought back.

Sakura gazed at his devilishly handsome features before she leaned forward, lovingly pressing her lips against his to silence him. He swallowed when she pulled away, watching her beautiful form sit before him, nursing their children.

Looking back, he would admit at he had gone a long way with Sakura. Perhaps his constant determination did manage to give him what he finally deserved... Yet something in the puzzle continued to linger in its absence that yearned for that piece to perfectly fit in. He was dangerously aware of that idea as the thought formed in his head.

He knew it would be a beautiful phrase, but he knew it should just remain as a pretty thought as of the moment, but the words had long escaped his lips before he could even register in his mind what he said.

"Marry me"

He ultimately froze, rather more frightened that he might have possibly scared Sakura judging from her indifference. Immediately, he erred.

"I mean--"

"Why not"

He blinked... Two different syllables that both doused the other's words muddled his hearing. Her response didn't fully register in his mind, but because of the clarity of his voice, he heard it so perfectly well that he didn't understand her.

His mouth fell slightly apart upon his incredible astonishment before he swallowed and dare broke the enchanting ambiance binding them as delicately as fine web.

Sakura smiled at him, glowing in magnificent exuberance from the afterglow of the recent event. She leaned towards him to plant an affectionate peck on his cheek before drawing back, "Harumi has a brother, Ryuuzuki, a sister, Gaara, two children like I... But it really isn't a fully fledge family unless we officially make it so..."

She looked at him, "I've given it quite a thought..." then smiled, "So I don't see why not?"

Why not?

The simplest phrase that made all doubt sound ridiculous. It could be a self thought question of, _should I go cancel tonight's meeting_?

He glanced at the trio, _Why not?_

He watched Sakura get up and gently put her children back to their own cribs, before she began swaying them every so slightly to assure to their slumber, unaware that she gave Gaara an erotically wonderful view of her full, fleshy ass.

His limp shaft twitched in excitement, should he go for another round? _Why not?_

He walked up to her and shamelessly just dove in from behind, causing her to double over with a breathy gasp before he took her away to bed. It was only then he realized that he wasn't exactly done with her yet.

"Oh, Gaara…" she moaned as he began wedging another round of tormenting grinds against her tightly pressed walls stretching her farther to mark that she was no one else's but his…

Should he marry her?

_Why not?_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Thank you and come again,"

Ino turned back to her vase as she began arranging a new set of flowers to be sold later on. She supposed she must learn how start making a living for herself, since relying on someone else is the last thing she'd need right now.

Then, a warm hand gently touched her shoulder.

"Honey, why don't you just tell us who the father is?"

It was her mother, asking her. Again.

"Tell me who that bastard is so I can kill him," interrupted her father who happened to have stepped into the store.

She really didn't want her parents to worry over her like this. Besides, it was her mistake and they didn't really deserve any of this. Putting her task down for a moment, she took in a deep breath and wore the most convincing smile she could ever muster.

"It doesn't really matter, I can do this alone"

_Ding!_

"Welcome…" Ino's brightened smile faded away as she stood frozen from behind the counter. To make matters worst, her parents were standing right next to each other. Almost anyone who steps in can already sense the awkward atmosphere flooding the store.

With haughty strides, he went straight up to her, looking her dead in the eye.

The intensity was as harsh as a grip to the throat that she could feel her knees buckle.

What was he doing here? Ugh! How bad can this day get…

Oh dear Kami, help her now… What if he finally knew? What's he going to do about it? The worst case scenarios began branching into her mind long before they can get to a proper conclusion.

"If it's not a boy, I swear I'll still name him Fugaku"

A pang of exuberant outburst rattled her chest as it began to blur her vision with heated tears of surreal joy. A small smile graced her lip as she struggled to answer.

"How conservative can you be?"

With a click of his tongue he headed for the exit, halting just by the door when he slightly peered over his shoulder, "until when are you due?"

"For another four months…" her voice nearly betrayed her with a feeble crack. After all, this wasn't exactly what she expected from him.

"Well then, let's make sure it's a healthy one"

-End-

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A/N**: ZOMG!!!! SURPRISE!!! My very first completed story!!!! Sorry for ending it, but it really is _THE END_ this time!!!

Bwahahahahahahahaha!!!

But I'm still wondering if I should make a sequel full of one shots regarding their every day life... But I dunno... I'm not too good with promises, so don't count on it too much (unless I'm utterly convinced, but until then I'm not so sure and all...)

So how did I execute this ending? This is still a 'Prototype' as to whomever calls it, it's still quite open to edits. I just decided to post it up coz it seems as good as done and… yeah!

It was your support that helped me finish this story so thank you guys!!!!


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